In Crises, Vaccines Can Be Stretched, but Not Easily Shortages of shots for yellow fever, polio and other diseases have led to innovative solutions even in very poor countries. A pharmacy worker preparing a coronavirus vaccine dose in England this week.Credit...Peter Cziborra/Reuters Published Jan. 23, 2021Updated Jan. 25, 2021 In desperate times, there are many ways to stretch vaccines and speed up inoculation campaigns, according to experts who have done it. Splitting doses, delaying second shots, injecting into the skin instead of the muscle and employing roving vaccination teams have all saved lives — when the circumstances were right. During cholera outbreaksin war zones, Doctors Without Borders has even used “takeaway” vaccination, in which the recipient is given the first dose on the spot and handed the second to self-administer later.