LEONARDTOWN, MD (August 17, 2021) – Community members with compromised immune systems are now able to schedule an appointment to receive a third additional vaccine dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna COVID-19 vaccines through the St. Mary’s County Health Department (SMCHD), in accordance with updated vaccination guidelines from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Included in CDC’s recommendation for booster dose recipients are people with a range of conditions, such as recipients of organ or stem cell transplants, people with advanced or untreated HIV infection, active recipients of treatment for cancer, people who are taking some medications that weaken the immune system, and others. A full list of conditions can be found on CDC’s website. The CDC does not recommend additional doses for any other population at this time, including for those who initially received the J&J/Janssen vaccine.
“Persons who are immunocompromised may not have had as strong of an immune response to prior COVID-19 vaccine and therefore may still be vulnerable to COVID-19 severe illness,” said Dr. Meena Brewster, St. Mary’s County Health Officer. “This booster dose is especially important now as we are dealing with the highly contagious delta variant and high community transmission of COVID-19.”
For more information or to make a COVID-19 vaccination appointment, please visit smchd.org/covid-19-vaccine or call the SMCHD COVID-19 Community Hotline at (301) 475-4330. Please review the allergy guidance and the FAQs for SMCHD COVID-19 Vaccination prior to registering for a vaccine appointment.
For local COVID-19 updates, information, and data visit smchd.org/coronavirus.
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