The Sedgwick County Health Department will begin providing a no-cost third dose of COVID-19 vaccine to people who have a moderately or severely weakened immune system.
Documentation of a qualifying condition is not being required, but people should being documentation of their first and second doses. The third dose will be available starting Wednesday, August 18th.
The Centers for Disease Control has approved a booster dose for people who have compromised immune systems, and who have had the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines. The booster was approved for people with the following conditions or treatments:
• Active treatment for solid tumor or hematologic malignancies
• Receipt of solid-organ transplant and taking immunosuppressive therapy
• Receipt of CAR-T-cell or hematopoietic stem cell transplant (within 2 years of transplantation or taking immunosuppression therapy)
• Moderate or severe primary immunodeficiency (e.g., DiGeorge, Wiskott-Aldrich syndromes)
• Advanced or untreated HIV infection
• Active treatment with high-dose corticosteroids (i.e., > 20mg prednisone or equivalent per day), alkylating agents, antimetabolites, transplant-related immunosuppressive drugs, cancer chemotherapeutic agents classified as severely immunosuppressive, TNF blockers, and other biologic agents that are immunosuppressive or immunomodulatory
The conditions do not include women who are pregnant, residents of adult care homes, or those with chronic medical conditions unless they have a condition or treatment listed above.
The third dose is to be administered at least 28 days after the second dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine. There is not enough data to determine if an additional dose of Johnson & Johnson vaccine will improve the immune response in people with weakened immune systems.
This week, the county’s vaccine clinic at 223 South Main will be open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday. Depending on demand, the clinic hours may be expanded next week.
