As COVID-19 booster vaccine become available, The Laurels of Mt. Vernon, a 104-bed nursing and rehabilitation center, is working with Kroger Pharmacy to schedule booster clinics for residents and employees who previously received the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, spokesman Ryan Zimmerman told the Mount Vernon News.
Moderna and Johnson & Johnson boosters have not yet been approved by the Food and Drug Administration.
“While a clinic date has not yet been scheduled, we anticipate one will be finalized by the end of the month,” said Zimmerman. “COVID-19 vaccines have quite literally been lifesaving in long-term care settings like The Laurels. Long-term care residents have a much higher risk for getting very sick, being hospitalized or dying from COVID-19, and the vaccines have been shown to provide a great deal of protection against serious illness due to COVID-19.”
It’s currently unclear how frequently long-term care residents of long-term care will need take booster vaccines, Zimmerman said.
“We will await further instructions on this topic from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and state and local health officials,” he said.
According to the CDC, booster shots are available for people 65 and older who received Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines at least six months ago.
The shot are also available for those 18 and older who meet those criteria and live in longer-term care settings, have underlying medical conditions and those who work or live in high-risk settings, the CDC said,
“Studies show that after getting vaccinated against COVID-19, protection against the virus may decrease over time and be less able to protect against the Delta variant,” the CDC said. “Although COVID-19 vaccination for adults aged 65 years and older remains effective in preventing severe disease, recent data suggest vaccination is less effective at preventing infection or milder illness with symptoms. Emerging evidence also shows that among health care and other frontline workers, vaccine effectiveness against COVID-19 infections is decreasing over time.”
The “greater infectiousness” of the Delta variant has also decreased vaccine effectiveness, the CDC said.
