By WKTV Staff
The Kent County Health Department announced this week that it will begin making Pfizer BioNtech COVID-19 booster shots available to eligible individuals on Tuesday, Sept. 28, at all three health department clinic locations.
County clinic locations and hours can be found here. Appointments can be made by calling 616-632-7200; persons may also use this number to schedule a first dose of vaccine for those who have not already had it.
“Note that these boosters are only for people who have received two doses of the Pfizer vaccine. We expect other boosters from other manufacturers to be coming soon,” according to the announcement. “In the meantime KCHD continues to strongly encourage anyone who has not yet received a first dose of COVID-19 vaccine to do so as soon as possible.”
The Kent County Health Department (KCHD) action follows the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently recommending a booster shot of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine in certain populations and for those in high risk occupational and institutional settings. This recommendation only applies to people who originally received both doses of the Pfizer vaccine at least 6 months ago.
The CDC recommends the following groups should receive a booster: people 65 years and older, residents in long-term care settings aged 18 years or older, and people aged 50-64 years with underlying medical conditions.
Additionally, the CDC recommends that the following groups “may” receive a booster based on their individual benefits and risks: people aged 18-49 years with underlying medical conditions, people aged 18-64 years who are at increased risk for COVID-19 exposure and transmission because of their occupational or institutional (residential) setting. (This groups includes adults aged 18-64 years who work or reside in settings such as health care, schools, congregant care facilities, correctional facilities, or homeless shelters. This group also includes front line essential workers such as first responders — firefighters, police, and EMS — as well as food and agriculture workers, manufacturing workers, U.S. Postal Service workers, public transit workers, and grocery store workers.)
The county health announcement also states that after reviewing data in the coming weeks, the CDC is expected to make recommendations about the Moderna and Johnson and Johnson vaccines.
Booster vice ‘third dose’ difference explained
In the meantime, there have been reports about a “third dose” of the COVID vaccine that is now available. The third dose is different than a booster and has been approved by the FDA and recommended by the CDC specifically and exclusively for people who are moderately or severely immunocompromised. These individuals have a medical condition or are on a medication that limits the strength of their immune systems and, therefore, they may not receive the same level of protection from a regular course of vaccination.
People who are immunocompromised may receive a third dose of either the Moderna or the Pfizer vaccine as soon as 28 days after the second dose. There is no additional dose of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine currently recommended.
“Again, the third dose should not be confused with a booster,” according to the county announcement. “A vaccine booster is an additional shot that is given to previously vaccinated people as the immunity provided by the original dose(s) has started to decrease over time. A booster is administered to help maintain the level of immunity in the future.”
