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Raleigh, North Carolina – Wake County health officials announced on Wednesday that they plan to offer COVID-19 vaccine boosters to anyone who wants them by the end of September. Currently, the county only offers boosters to people with severely weakened immune systems.
Health experts have said that to receive a booster you must wait 8 months after completing your initial vaccination. In a press release, Wake County health officials said staff would find an individual’s vaccination record in the COVID NC vaccine management system to ensure they received both doses. from Pfizer or Moderna. Individuals can also bring their vaccination record.
After verifying what vaccine a person has received, people will be asked to “certify or declare that you are immunocompromised by signing a digital form,” according to a press release from the county health department.
Transplant recipient Rodney Cook said by the time the booster became available he wanted one, but it wasn’t that easy.
“I called the Walgreens here, and they didn’t have clearance yet,” Cook explained.
Cook, who is in the current eligibility bracket for people with severely weakened immune systems, was able to receive the booster while on vacation.
“At Carolina Beach at Walgreens,” Cook said.
Although availability may have been delayed at local Cook’s Walgreens, Wake County officials say they are giving booster shots to immunocompromised with facilitate.
“Every day we see up to 100 or 120 people coming in for booster shots,” said Dr. Jason Wittes, director of Wake County Pharmacy.
Currently, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control recommends the third dose for:
- Cancer patients who are on active treatment for tumors or cancers of the blood.
- Organ transplant recipients who take drugs to suppress their immune system.
- Anyone with moderate or severe primary immunodeficiency.
- Anyone with advanced or untreated HIV infection.
- Anyone taking high-dose corticosteroids or other medicines that may suppress their immune response.
But, when the time comes, Wittes said the county would have no problem meeting the need to administer booster shoots to everyone.
“[It’s] will probably live on September 20, ”Wittes said. “We are awaiting further guidance and guidance on how this deployment is going to be. “
Only people who have received the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine will be eligible for a booster and should receive the same vaccine as before.
However, a recall may soon be approved for the Johnson and Johnson COVID-19 vaccine. New research shows that the Johnson and Johnson vaccine booster shots generated a spike in antibodies to the virus. In a statement on Wednesday, Johnson and Johnson said 2,000 people involved in studies in Europe and the United States received the booster six months after their first dose.
“There was a nine-fold increase in the antibody response to a booster dose,” Wittes said.
The Johnson and Johnson vaccine differs from the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines in that it uses a paralyzed cold virus called adenovirus to send instructions to the body to trigger an immune response. Modern and Pfizer vaccines use mRNA to convey instructions.
CNN reports that health officials previously raised concerns that a Johnson and Johnson booster might not work as effectively as the body would generate a greater immune response to the vector.
But now health officials have said a booster dose of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine will be needed at some point.
Wittes said the data is great news for the more than 250,000 North Carolina residents who have received the Johnson and Johnson vaccine.
“We’re definitely going to see some data in the coming weeks,” Wittes said.
“Our call center received these requests [for a booster shot] but it’s not just for Johnson and Johnson. It’s also for people who aren’t immunocompromised but wanted an extra dose or a booster right now, ”Wittes said.
While the booster dose for Pfizer and Moderna will be available to everyone on September 20, Wittes said once the Johnson and Johnson booster is approved, it will also be available.
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