Who can get a COVID booster shot and where to get it

Hundreds of thousands of Connecticut residents qualify for a COVID-19 booster shot since eligibility expanded Wednesday.

Hundreds of thousands of residents are eligible either because of their age, underlying health conditions or jobs in high-risk environments. There are about 270,000 state residents who are 65 and older.

Eligibility for booster shots expanded Wednesday after a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advisory committee recommended booster shots for Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine recipients. Extra doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine started being administered Friday.

The state started providing third doses of Pfizer and Moderna vaccines to immunocompromised patients around mid-August. Since then, about 24,000 people in Connecticut have already received a third shot.

Gov. Ned Lamont even received his own booster shot Saturday at the Durham Fair, the governor announced through Twitter.

“Getting your booster is so easy,” he said. “Same with your first shot.”

Here’s what you need to know about these booster shots:

Who is eligible?

Only people who initially received the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine can get a booster shot, but there is an exception: Those who are immunocompromised and got a Moderna vaccine can get a third Moderna booster shot. Officials have not granted approval for expanded eligibility for those who received Moderna or Johnson & Johnson’s vaccines.

Anyone considering getting a booster shot should also speak to their health care provider beforehand.

According to the CDC, eligible populations include: People 65 years or older Residents in long-term care settings

People 18 years or older who are at increased risk for coronavirus exposure or transmission due to their job or where they reside, such as health care, schools, correctional facilities and homeless shelters.

People 18 years or older who have underlying medical conditions, which includes but isn’t limited to cancer; chronic kidney disease; chronic lung diseases like COPD, asthma, interstitial lung disease, cystic fibrosis and pulmonary hypertension; dementia or other neurological conditions; diabetes; Down Syndrome; heart conditions such as heart failure, coronary artery disease, cardiomyopathies or hypertension; HIV infection; liver disease; overweight or obesity; pregnancy; sickle cell disease or thalassemia; current or former smokers; solid organ or blood stem cell transplant; stroke or cerebrovascular disease and substance use disorders.

People who are immunocompromised, including people who have been taking medicine to suppress the immune system, receiving active cancer treatment for tumors or cancers of the blood, received an organ transplant, received a stem cell transplant within the last two years, have moderate to severe primary immunodeficiency, have an advanced or untreated HIV infection or have active treatment with high-dose corticosteroids or other drugs that may suppress an immune response.

When can I get a booster shot?

If you’re eligible, you can get a booster shot six months after your second dose of the Pfizer vaccine.

People with moderately to severely compromised immune systems can get a third shot at least 28 days after a second dose of either Pfizer or Moderna’s vaccine.

Where can I get a booster shot?

There are about 800 vaccine providers in the state ready to give booster shots, according to the state’s Department of Public Health.

Vaccine providers can be found by going to CT.gov/COVIDVaccine.

Why should I get a booster shot if I’m eligible?

Even after getting fully vaccinated, protection against the virus could decrease over time, according to the CDC.

Some immunocompromised people don’t build the same level of immunity after vaccinations as non-immunocompromised people, according to the CDC. The additional dose could help boost the immune system’s ability to recognize the virus and fight back.

Small studies have shown that fully vaccinated immunocompromised people account for a large portion of hospitalized breakthrough cases and are more likely to transmit the virus, the CDC said.