COVID-19 vaccine booster not yet authorized or recommended for general public
Many people are wondering when COVID-19 vaccine booster shots will be available to the public. Right now, only moderately to severely immunocompromised people, such as those who received an organ transplant or are undergoing cancer treatment, are eligible to receive a third (supplemental) dose of an mRNA vaccine. The CDC recommends this supplemental dose, meant to boost antibodies and bolster protection, be given at least a month after the second shot in the two-dose series.
While the CDC and the FDA are evaluating whether some additional populations might benefit from a third mRNA vaccine dose, or booster, it is not yet authorized or recommended. According to the CDC, the goal is for people to start receiving a COVID-19 booster shot beginning in the fall, with individuals becoming eligible starting eight months after they received their second shot of an mRNA vaccine in a two-dose series. We will update you as soon as the official guidance changes and booster shots are available.
Looking ahead to booster shots becoming widely available, we spoke to Otto Yang, MD, a professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases at the David Geffen school of Medicine at UCLA, about the supplemental, or booster dose, including what side effects people are likely to experience and when people who received the one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine can expect to be offered their second shot.
