Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services begins administering Pfizer COVID-19 booster shots
Columbia, Mo. (KMIZ)
The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services revised its guidelines Monday evening regarding COVID-19 booster shots. The department now falls in line with the guidance from the Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The CDC suggested people aged 18-64 at increased risk for COVID-19 exposure because of occupational settings should get the booster shot.
The only approved booster shot is from Pfizer.
The third dose of booster shots is currently available for a few "at-risk" occupations by making an appointment with medical providers or pharmacies that stock the Pfizer vaccine.
Sara Humm, a public information specialist, said that their department is still waiting on clarification from the federal level about exactly which occupations are eligible for booster doses.
"We do know that currently, the booster shots are approved for nursing homes, health care facilities, and schools," said Humm.
Dr. Blount, an internal medicine specialist at Boone Health, said that it is essential that people working in "at-risk" occupational settings get the booster shot if we want our community to get back into the routine of things.
"The best thing we have to bring ourselves back to any sense of normalcy is to maximize the immunity in the community," Dr. Blount said.
The current recommendations are only for eligible people and have received their first two doses of the Pfizer vaccination.
Dr. Blount said that the side effects of the third booster are "no more than what we've already seen." Side effects are minimal and include achiness, sore arm, and feeling a bit under the weather for a few days.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has not yet released any additional information regarding a booster shot for Moderna or Johnson & Johnson. Still, they said they would evaluate with similar urgency and provide available data in the following weeks.
