Looks like the third time’s going to have to be the charm. According to a new report from The New York Times, the Biden administration will be advising Americans to get a third booster shot eight months after they received their second vaccination shot, with the rollout beginning as early as mid-September.
This comes on the heels of concerns following the recent spread of the highly contagious COVID-19 Delta variant and spate of breakthrough cases, in which fully vaccinated individuals are still getting COVID. It’s also due to concerns that the original two-shot series has waning efficacy. This is all pending authorization by the Food and Drug Administration to release the additional vaccine doses needed to cover the booster shots.
The additional jabs will be for anyone who received the Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines, and likely, for those who received the single-dose Johnson & Johnson shot, too, though conclusions on the latter will be made later in the month.
In terms of who gets what and when, the first round of booster shots will likely mirror the initial rollout of the COVID vaccines, with nursing home residents and frontline medical workers getting first dibs, followed by older individuals and then the general population. The assumption is that people will get a third dose of the same brand of vaccine shot they originally received. So if you got the two-shot Pfizer vaccine, you’ll get a third Pfizer booster shot.
What does this mean for Saratogians? For most, it will be a waiting game like the first time around. But outgoing Governor Andrew Cuomo, who is in his last week in office following his resignation, announced yesterday that the Department of Health had authorized a third dose of the COVID vaccine for New Yorkers with compromised immune systems. Eligible New Yorkers will be able to receive their third dose 28 days after the completion of their two-dose series, effective immediately.
