WEEKLY UPDATE: Week of 8/16/2021
Booster of Covid-19 Vaccine for General Public
The THD will be providing a booster of the Covid-19 vaccination once they are fully approved. The CDC does not currently recommend boosters for fully vaccinated individuals. Although boosters are not yet indicated, it is likely that the CDC will recommend them in the not-so-distant future. We do not expect any recommendations to be issued that will result in immediate roll-out of the booster, but we are closely watching these proceedings.
Third Dose for Immunocompromised Individuals
The FDA recently authorized third doses for immunocompromised individuals, who comprise approximately 3% of the US population. The THD will be vaccinating those individuals once we receive guidance from the state. If you fall into this category, please contact your physician.
Moderately and severely immunocompromised people include the following*
- Active treatment for solid tumor and hematologic malignancies
- Receipt of solid-organ transplant and taking immunosuppressive therapy
- Receipt of CAR-T-cell or hematopoietic stem cell transplant (within 2 years of transplantation or taking immunosuppression therapy)
- Moderate or severe primary immunodeficiency (e.g., DiGeorge, Wiskott-Aldrich syndromes)
- Advanced or untreated HIV infection
- Active treatment with high-dose corticosteroids (i.e., ≥20mg prednisone or equivalent per day), alkylating agents, antimetabolites, transplant-related immunosuppressive drugs, cancer chemotherapeutic agents classified as severely immunosuppressive, TNF blockers, and other biologic agents that are immunosuppressive or immunomodulatory
*ACIP General Best Practice Guidelines for Immunization; CDC Yellow Book; 2013 IDSA Clinical Practice Guidel for Vaccination of the Immunocompromised Host