More and more Americans are becoming eligible for the booster shot, and sometimes it can get confusing on who can and can’t have it or what the requirements might be.
Boosters are important for those that are fully vaccinated to help maintain their immunity and lower their chances of hospitalization or death.
At risk people are especially vulnerable to hospitalization and death, and should get vaccines if they qualify.
All three brands of the vaccine, Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson have boosters available now.
If someone had the Moderna or Pfizer booster first, they need to wait six months to get their booster from the date of their original vaccine. If they had the J&J shot, the wait is two months. Certain requirements are necessary for who can get which booster depending on many factors.
The first factor is the brand the person originally had. If they had Pfizer or Moderna, then they have the six month wait, must be over 65, or be a younger adult who has health problems or a job or living conditions that put you at higher risk of severe illness or exposure to COVID-19.
As for anyone that had the J&J shot, anyone over 18 that had it as the original vaccine may get a booster, and they can choose from any of the three available vaccine brands.
The reason anyone that had J&J originally can now get a booster is because researchers found that the level of protection is not as strong as the two dose vaccines.
The CDC says the booster is not a requirement to be considered fully vaccinated, it’s just added protection at the moment.
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