More Mississippians can now get COVID booster shots, including frontline workers
More Mississippians are eligible to get another dose of the Pfizer vaccine, and shots are now available at county health departments, the state health department said Wednesday.
Another Pfizer dose — the only fully FDA-approved booster shot so far — is available
now for adults 18 and older who have been fully vaccinated with two Pfizer doses for at least six months and fall into any of these categories:
- 65 and older
- long-term care facility residents
- have certain underlying medical conditions
- work in certain occupations that increase their risk of exposure, including grocery store workers, first responders, teachers and manufacturing workers.
The qualifying medical conditions are:
Chronic kidney disease
Chronic lung diseases (COPD, asthma, etc.)
Dementia or other neurological conditions
Diabetes (type 1 or 2)
Down syndrome
Heart conditions (such as heart failure, coronary artery disease, or cardiomyopathies)
Hypertension
Liver disease
Overweight, obesity or severe obesity (body mass index (BMI) over 25 kg/m2)
Pregnancy
Sickle cell disease or thalassemia
Smoking (current or former)
Stroke
Substance abuse disorders
Other medical conditions determined by a medical provider
Occupations at increased risk for COVID-19 exposure and transmission:
First responders (healthcare workers, firefighters, police, congregate care staff)
Education staff (teachers, support staff, daycare workers)
Food and agriculture workers
Manufacturing workers
Corrections workers
U.S. Postal Service workers
Public transit workers
Grocery store workers
Starting Thursday, the Mississippi State Department of Health is offering Pfizer shots to more people to increase immunity after initial two-dose series have weakened over time.
They are available at all county health departments in the state, including in Hancock and Harrison and Jackson counties on the Coast.
“It’s going to be a pretty narrow focus as far as the vaccine is concerned. It’s only for Pfizer,” said State Epidemiologist Paul Byers last Friday during a Mississippi State Medical Association chat.
“Now, when you look at our data, where we’re seeing the biggest impact on our breakthrough vaccine deaths — the people who have been fully vaccinated and several weeks after that, they get infected and unfortunately die, 75-80% of those are in folks over the age of 65. So we still need to make those folks over the age of 65 a priority.”
Make an appointment for the Pfizer booster through https://covidvaccine.umc.edu or by calling the COVID-19 hotline at 877-978-6453.
MSDH requests everyone recipients bring their COVID vaccine cards to the appointment.
The health departments also have first and second shots of the vaccine available at their locations, according to MSDH.
Hancock County Health Department
- 856 Highway 90, Bay St. Louis, MS 39520-8602
- 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday–Friday
- 228-467-4510
Harrison County Health Department
- 1102 45th Avenue, Gulfport, MS 39501
- 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday–Friday
- 228-863-1036
Jackson County Health Department
- 4600 Lt. Eugene J. Majure Drive, Pascagoula, MS 39581
- 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday–Friday
- 228-762-1117
Booster shots are also available at local health systems like Singing River and Oschner, along with clinics and pharmacies along the Coast. Find a location here: https://www.vaccines.gov/search/
Booster shot different from third dose
The Pfizer booster shots are different from additional, or third doses in a first vaccination series. According to MSDH, the booster “is given to provide additional immunity after the initial immune response to the primary two-dose series of vaccine has waned over time.”
But a third, extra dose of the two-dose Pfizer or Moderna vaccine series is for individuals with moderately to severely compromised immune systems who “may not mount the same immune response to the two-dose vaccine primary series compared to people who are not immunocompromised.”
A third dose is recommended at least four weeks after completion of the first series for severely immunocompromised Mississippians.
Byers said on Friday that over 40,000 Mississippians have received third doses.
“We’ve been encouraged by the utilization of that. We’ve had over 40,000 Mississippians that have gotten vaccinated with a third dose because they’re immunocompromised with either Pfizer or Moderna. It’s very protective and we’re very encouraged by that,” Byers said.
MSDH recommends an additional or third dose for the following individuals:
Receiving cancer treatment for tumors or cancers of the blood.
Received an organ transplant and are taking medicine to suppress the immune system.
Received a stem cell transplant within the last 2 years or are taking medicine to suppress the immune system.
Moderate or severe primary immunodeficiency (such as DiGeorge syndrome, Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome).
Advanced or untreated HIV infection
Active treatment with high-dose corticosteroids or other drugs that may suppress your immune response.
Any other medical condition which, in the provider’s opinion, limits the immune response to the mRNA COVID-19 vaccine primary two-dose series.
This article and live event is supported by the Journalism and Public Information Fund, a fund of the Gulf Coast Community Foundation.
This story was originally published October 1, 2021 at 5:50 AM.
