WDTN.com

Am I eligible? Public Health agencies to administer Pfizer booster shots to at-risk groups

FILE - In this Jan. 12, 2021, file photo resident of Harmony Court Assisted Living receives the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine in Jackson, Miss. With booster doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine now authorized in the U.S., government advisers reconvened on Thursday, Sept. 23, to tackle the most contentious question yet: Exactly who should roll up their sleeves right away? (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File)

DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) – Public Health agencies for several West Central Ohio counties will begin administering a booster dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, West Central Ohio Regional Public Health said.

The purpose of this additional dose is to strengthen the immune response when the initial immune response to the primary two-dose vaccine series is likely to be insufficient, according to the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP).

High-risk individuals in Champaign, Clark, Darke, Greene, Miami, Montgomery, Preble, and Shelby counties will be able to receive this booster shot, Public Health said, provided it is more than six months since they completed the initial vaccination.

“Even as we start some individuals on booster doses, we cannot lose sight of the urgency to receive a first dose,” said Charles Patterson, Clark County Health Commissioner. “We urge individuals who have not yet received a vaccination to do so as quickly as possible to reduce the recent surge of severe illness and hospitalization.”

Public Health said that individuals who received the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine or the Moderna vaccine are not eligible to receive a booster dose at this time.

Each county’s health department will determine the schedule for when eligible groups will begin in their area.

Eligible groups include:

Anyone requesting a booster dose of COVID-19 vaccine will be advised of all the qualifying conditions and will self-attest to their own eligibility.