CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — When did you get the COVID vaccine? Well it might be time for you to get a booster shot.
The CDC and FDA approved Pfizer booster shots for those who are 65 years and older who got both of their Pfizer shots at least six months ago.
They also approved a booster shot for people who are 18 and older and have underlying medical conditions.
The FDA recommended that people with jobs that have a higher risk of getting the COVID-19 virus such as teachers and healthcares workers get the booster.
However, the CDC’s vaccine advisers voted against that.
Nueces County Public Health Director Annette Rodriguez said the initial vaccine still works after six months, but in a pandemic it is recommend that you get the booster if you qualify for it.
“They even show research that sometimes if you wait a little longer, you get a better response because your body is really trying to figure out what is this? How do I make antibodies against it and so the longer it has to figure it out, the better off it does,” Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez said that all vaccine clinics would have the booster shots available and that they could be available as early as Friday. Earlier in the day she was waiting on approval from the CDC but noted she was already getting calls from people wanting the booster.
“People really need to be patient and they need to not be argumentative with the staff. It’s not that we don’t want to give you a booster. It’s that we’re not allowed,” she said on Thursday before the CDC’s announcement.
She said the booster shot will contain the same amount of vaccine as the other initial Pfizer shots people received. She said so far 150,000 people have gotten vaccinated at the Corpus Christi-Nueces County health district alone.
She said the health district is expecting to hear from the CDC soon about booster shots for people who received the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines.
