“The No. 1 thing I heard from state health secretaries was the need for permissive language around a mix-and-match approach,” said Dr. Nirav D. Shah, Maine’s top health official and the president of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials.
What to Know About Covid-19 Booster Shots
The F.D.A. authorized booster shots for a select group of people who received their second doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine at least six months before. That group includes: vaccine recipients who are 65 or older or who live in long-term care facilities; adults who are at high risk of severe Covid-19 because of an underlying medical condition; health care workers and others whose jobs put them at risk. People with weakened immune systems are eligible for a third dose of either Pfizer or Moderna four weeks after the second shot.
The C.D.C. has said the conditions that qualify a person for a booster shot include: hypertension and heart disease; diabetes or obesity; cancer or blood disorders; weakened immune system; chronic lung, kidney or liver disease; dementia and certain disabilities. Pregnant women and current and former smokers are also eligible.
The F.D.A. authorized boosters for workers whose jobs put them at high risk of exposure to potentially infectious people. The C.D.C. says that group includes: emergency medical workers; education workers; food and agriculture workers; manufacturing workers; corrections workers; U.S. Postal Service workers; public transit workers; grocery store workers.
Yes. The C.D.C. says the Covid vaccine may be administered without regard to the timing of other vaccines, and many pharmacy sites are allowing people to schedule a flu shot at the same time as a booster dose.
Dr. Clay Marsh, West Virginia’s Covid-19 czar, said the state had a greater supply of Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines than of Johnson & Johnson’s, so officials there might prefer to use them for boosters out of convenience. Others said the option of switching vaccines could streamline the administration of boosters.
“The impetus for states and local health departments was that if they were going to go out to a community site or long-term care facility and start providing boosters, it was a little inefficient to show up somewhere and say, ‘We’re just doing the people who got Pfizer,’” said Dr. Marcus Plescia, the chief medical officer for the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials. “When you have a captive audience, you want to take advantage of that.”
Yet more options could lead to more confusion about booster shots, some…
Read More: F.D.A. to Allow ‘Mix and Match’ Approach for Covid Booster Shots