Third dose recommended for certain immunocompromised individuals

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is recommending people who are moderately to severely immunocompromised receive a third dose of Pfizer or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine.

Individuals qualifying for the third dose have one or more of the following conditions, treatments or diagnosis:

• Undergone solid organ transplantation and taking immune suppressing medications.
• Active treatment for solid tumor and hematologic malignancies.
• Receipt of CAR-T cell or hematopoietic stem cell transplant (within two years of transplantation or taking immunosuppression therapy).
• Moderate to severe primary immunodeficiency such as DiGeorge syndrome or Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome.
• Advanced or untreated HIV infection.
• Active treatment with high-dose corticosteroids or other drugs that may suppress immune response including high-dose corticosteroids (greater than 20 mg prednisone or equivalent per day), alkylating agents, antimetabolites, transplant-related immunosuppressive drugs, cancer chemotherapeutic agents classified as severely immunosuppressive, tumor necrosis (TNF) blocker or other biologic agents that are immunosuppressive or immunomodulatory.

Although individuals are not required to provide documentation of their health status, they must sign an attestation form confirming that they are included in one of the qualifying categories.

The third dose is only available to immunocompromised individuals who were given Pfizer or Moderna vaccines for their first two doses and be given more than 28 days from the second dose. A booster dose for the general public is expected to begin this fall pending authorization by the Food and Drug Administration and recommendation by the CDC.

Citizens Memorial Hospital patients should contact their primary care provider to schedule an appointment or call Stephens Pharmacy at 417-326-2416.