COVID booster shots now recommended for all adults

Contributed By:The 411 News

Booster shots are now recommended for any adult 18 and over who received the 2-dose Pfizer or Moderna COVID-19 vaccines and the 1-dose Johnson & Johnson.

That recommendation came Friday, November 19 from CDC Director Rochelle Walensky. Until now, eligibility for the Moderna and Pfizer booster shots were determined by a complex formula involving a variety of age cutoffs as well as health conditions and exposure risks.

The new recommendations state that people between the ages of 18 and 49 who have no risk factors may get a booster if they wish. All other people should get a booster.

From now on health personnel administering booster doses will need to ask two simple questions of people who received one of the mRNA vaccines as their primary Covid series: Are you 18 or older? and Has it been six months or longer since you received your second shot?

Adults who received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine can get an additional dose two months after their first. The CDC authorized those who received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine to select either the Moderna or Pfizer vaccine as a booster.

Broadly distributing booster shots is controversial among public health authorities. The World Health Organization has criticized wealthy nations for rolling out third shots when people in poorer countries have very limited access to Covid vaccines.

Booster shots have also stirred some controversy in the U.S., as they are rolling out at a time when the country is struggling to persuade millions of people to even get their first dose. More than 60 million Americans remain unvaccinated.

Story Posted:11/22/2021