NORFOLK, Va. — 700,000 Virginians are now eligible for Pfizer’s booster shot, which means mass vaccination sites could pop back up all over the commonwealth as early as next week.
On Friday, the CDC and FDA gave the go-ahead for certain groups to get their Pfizer booster shot six months after their second dose.
People 65 and older, people 18 to 64 with underlying medical conditions, and those who work where they are at higher risk of COVID-19 exposure are eligible.
"There have already been plenty of people already this weekend who went and got their booster shot," says Dr. Danny Avula, Virginia's vaccine coordinator.
He says the state has 1.2 million doses of the vaccine ready to go, so they're flexible with who can get it.
"While there are four main categories that the CDC has identified, ultimately that’s on the individual to really think about whether they want one or not," he said. "I think it’s also important for people to realize that we’re in a really different context than we were back in January where we had a scarce resource in vaccines. We really had to make determinations about who was at highest risk and had to very clearly define who should get vaccinated now and who should wait until later."
When you go to get that booster shot, he says they’ll take your word for it that you fit into one of the categories.
"We’re not asking for medical documentation, or a doctor’s note or proof of employment," said Avula.
As for how you can get your booster, Avula says 2,000 pharmacies, 2,700 doctors’ offices, and health departments are already putting Pfizer boosters in arms.
On top of that, Avula says more mass vaccination sites are on the way.
"We are in the final stages of contracting with a vendor to stand up the large community vaccination sites, just like we did back in April," he said. "As early as next week we could see some of those large-scale vaccination centers get stood up."
He says they have the federal funding to keep them up until the end of the year, but doesn’t think they’ll need to.
"We have 5 to 11 year old's who will likely be newly approved early November, so I think there will be a period of a few weeks where we will see a lot of demand and we want to make sure we have additional capacity in communities to handle that demand," said Avula.
Only Pfizer is approved for a booster shot right now, but Avula says Moderna and Johnson and Johnson shouldn’t be far behind. In the meantime, the CDC does not recommend mixing and matching vaccines.
He also says the Pfizer booster is the same dose as the 1st and 2nd doses.
As for the rollout of the booster, he says it's a lot less complex than what they were dealing with earlier in the year.
"We have a much more varied and robust delivery system for vaccine and it's less of an emergency than getting initially vaccinated," Avula says. "So, if you’re eligible for a booster, call your provider, go to a pharmacy and see if you can make your appointment. If that can happen this week, great, but if it can’t happen for three or four weeks, that’s really okay because you still have a high degree of protection against severe disease."
As for people who haven't even gotten one dose of the vaccine, he urges them to consider the consequences.
"Look at what’s happening around our state and around our country right now and really reconsider because it’s just such a stark impact the vaccine has to protect us from the severe consequences."