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The COVID-19 booster injections for eligible Alabamians who received both Pfizer injections are ready for use, according to Chief Medical Officer Dr Scott Harris.
“Booster doses are now allowed and available for at least one group of people for one situation,” Harris said. “These are the people who received the full course from Pfizer [vaccines] in the past and are at least six months away from their second stroke.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday approved booster shots for millions of older or otherwise vulnerable Americans.
Booster shots are not yet available for those who have been vaccinated with Moderna or Johnson and Johnson vaccines. The FDA has not weighed in on whether mixing and matching doses from different manufacturers is effective or advisable.
Among that eligible group, Harris said, a booster shot is recommended for people 65 and older and those in long-term care situations, including nursing homes.
Boosters are also recommended for people aged 50 to 65 who have an underlying medical condition that puts them at greater risk of complications from COVID-19.
Read more: Who can benefit from the Pfizer recall? Where can I get one?
The CDC did not say that groups beyond those two “should” receive a booster dose, but made other groups eligible to receive one.
People between the ages of 18 and 49 who have an underlying health condition are also eligible, Harris said, based on the individual’s risk and benefit.
People aged 18 and over whose work or institutional setting puts them at greater risk are also eligible for the Pfizer recall. Harris said this includes healthcare workers, first responders, grocers, educators and daycares.
“We don’t automatically ask everyone 18 and over to go for a booster,” Harris said. The decision as to whether a booster is necessary should be made in consultation with the person’s health care provider.
Harris said the ADHD is trying to verify whether Alabama has the highest reported death rate nationally.
Alabama outbreak: Why is Alabama now averaging 100 COVID deaths per day?
Regardless of this ranking, Harris said, “We are doing a terrible job with the deaths.”
“These numbers are not statistics,” he said. “These are, these are our friends and our family and our loved ones. These are Alabamians who are dying from COVID. And we continue to say that at least 90% of these deaths are completely preventable with vaccination. There is no reason these people should have died. Vaccination prevents most hospitalizations and most deaths and it’s a tragedy that we have to sit here every week and report these numbers to you.
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