CORONAVIRUS
Who can get the booster shot for covid-19? Where can I get it?
As new variants, as delta emerge, vaccine efficacy seems to be dipping, leading the CDC to recommend a booster shot for certain high-risk groups.
The delta variant is surging across the United States, leaving some state leaders to urge hospitals to postpone non-essential procedures to ensure capacity for covid-19 patients.
For many in the health care field, one feeling that permeates this latest wave of infections is frustration.
Frustration that many of these patients could have avoided a life-threatening case of covid-19 -- or infection at all -- had they chosen to get vaccinated.
While the danger of severe or fatal infection is lower for those who are fully vaccinated compared to those who have not received their shots, scientists worry that more variants will arise and the vaccines available will not be as effective.
For that reason, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have begun to suggest that high-risk groups, including those with compromised immune systems, receive a third “booster” shot.
Who should get a “booster” shot?
The CDC is urging people with the following conditions to consider receiving a second (Jansen) or third (Moderna and Pfizer & BioNTech). This includes those who:
- Have recently received treatment for cancerous tumors or cancers of the blood
- Who take medication, such as corticosteroids, to suppress their immune system because they have received an organ or stem cell transplant
- Have a “moderate or severe primary immunodeficiency.”
- Who are HIV positive and are not currently receiving treatment or suffer from an advanced case.
Where can I get my “booster” shot?
Before signing up for a vaccine appointment, those with these conditions or others should speak with their doctor. After discussing with your doctor, they will point you to resources that can help you make your appointment.
Which vaccine will I receive as my "booster"?
Your primary health care provider should be able to provide more information on which vaccine would serve as the most effective "booster."
New information released by the CDC shows that those who received an mRNA vaccine (Moderna or Pfizer & BioNTech) could benefit from receiving the single dose Janssen vaccine. However, currently “there is not enough information to determine whether immunocompromised people who received the Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen COVID-19 vaccine also have an improved antibody response following an additional dose of the same vaccine.”
Has vaccine demand increased as delta drives a surge in cases?
In August, the percentage of partially vaccinated people has grown by 2.2 percent to 59.9 percent. The increase for those who are fully vaccinated is 1.3 percent, and as of 18 August has reached 50.9 percent. When comparing these increases to those seen in the last seventeen days of July, the figures are higher, especially for those getting their first shot.
In the last few weeks of July, the percent of the population who received one dose of the vaccine increased by 1.7 percent, .05 lower than the rate seen in August thus far.
A similar increase in those receiving their final shot could also be seen, but the data will be delayed as vaccine goers must wait a few weeks before receiving their second shot.