The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention approved booster doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine for people 65 and older, long-term care facility residents, people with underlying conditions and those whose occupations put them at risk for COVID — including teachers and healthcare workers.
CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky approved the recommendations from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) late Thursday, and added another significant group that ACIP declined to endorse for boosters — healthcare workers, teachers and others whose jobs put them at risk.
“As CDC director, it is my job to recognize where our actions can have the greatest impact,” Walensky said in a statement late Thursday. “At CDC, we are tasked with analyzing complex, often imperfect data to make concrete recommendations that optimize health. In a pandemic, even with uncertainty, we must take actions that we anticipate will do the greatest good.”
Hartford HealthCare has already begun planning how to administer the boosters to those who qualify in the latest phase of the pandemic that has seen a significant number of breakthrough cases.
HHC teams are organizing booster clinics across the state, although no appointments are being taken yet. Dr. Ajay Kumar, HHC’s chief clinical officer, said older and immunocompromised patients have been asked at regular medical appointments if they want to be contacted when the boosters are available. Text messages have also been sent to patients and will continue as the situation evolves.
Joseph Zuzel, manager of community health for Backus and Windham hospitals in eastern Connecticut, said now that the CDC has announced who qualifies for boosters, he is working with community partners to ensure that those who need boosters get them. This includes bringing booster vaccines out into the community to those who may not otherwise seek vaccines.
Zuzel added that while boosters are the latest news, it is important to focus on people who have not been vaccinated at all.
“We are also working hard to make sure that individuals who have not received their first round of vaccinations continue to have opportunities to do so, and have access to the facts about vaccines to help them make the decision,” Zuzel said, adding that he’s working with other community agencies to coordinate clinics.
- Here are the specific CDC guidelines:
- people 65 years and older and residents in long-term care settings should receive a booster shot of Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine at least 6 months after their Pfizer-BioNTech primary series,
- people aged 50–64 years with underlying medical conditions should receive a booster shot of Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine at least 6 months after their Pfizer-BioNTech primary series,
- people aged 18–49 years with underlying medical conditions may receive a booster shot of Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine at least 6 months after their Pfizer-BioNTech primary series, based on their individual benefits and risks, and
- people aged 18-64 years who are at increased risk for COVID-19 exposure and transmission because of occupational or institutional setting may receive a booster shot of Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine at least 6 months after their Pfizer-BioNTech primary series, based on their individual benefits and risks.
“I believe we can best serve the nation’s public health needs by providing booster doses for the elderly, those in long-term care facilities, people with underlying medical conditions, and for adults at high risk of disease from occupational and institutional exposures to COVID-19,” Walensky said. “We will address, with the same sense of urgency, recommendations for the Moderna and J&J vaccines as soon as those data are available. While today’s action was an initial step related to booster shots, it will not distract from our most important focus of primary vaccination in the United States and around the world. I want to thank ACIP for their thoughtful discussion and scientific deliberation on the current data which informed my recommendation.
Booster shots are by appointment only.