Early Thursday, an advisory committee for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended a booster dose of the Pfizer vaccine for people aged 65 and older. They also approved a third shot for residents of long-term care facilities and people 18 and older with certain underlying conditions.
State health officials estimate the number of Oregonians potentially eligible for a Pfizer booster-- right now--could exceed 230-thousand people. Across Oregon, vaccination sites currently have approximately 460-thousand Pfizer doses in stock.
People vaccinated with the Moderna or Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines are not yet eligible to receive the Pfizer booster. But consideration of a booster recommendation for them is expected in the coming weeks.
People who are immunocompromised and were vaccinated at least one month ago, currently qualify for a third dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, based on previous recommendations approved by federal and Western States medical experts.
According to the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices panel, people who are recommended to receive a Pfizer booster are:
People 65 or older who received their second dose of Pfizer vaccine at least 6 months ago.
Residents of long-term care facilities who received their second dose of Pfizer vaccine at least 6 months ago.
People 50-64 who have medical conditions that put them at-risk of developing severe COVID-19 disease and received their second dose of Pfizer vaccine at least 6 months ago.
People 18 to 49 years old who have underlying health conditions that make them vulnerable to COVID-19, and who received their second dose of Pfizer vaccine at least 6 months ago, would also be eligible based on their individual benefits and risks. (State public health doctors emphasized that findings from current data show that vaccine effectiveness against hospitalization and death remains high in people under the age of 65.)
