Will There Be A Booster Shot For Pfizer's COVID-19 Vaccine?
COVID-19 vaccination shots from Pfizer require two shots spread out three weeks apart. Two weeks after the second shot, people are considered fully vaccinated. Now, those fully vaccinated are getting ready for a third shot, also called a booster shot. According to NPR, the United States surgeon general, Dr. Vivek Murthy, gave a White House briefing, saying, "We know that even highly effective vaccines become less effective over time. It is now our clinical judgment that the time to lay out a plan for COVID boosters is now." The doctor added that booster shots will be available to the most vulnerable people like seniors, health care providers, nursing home residents, and long-term care facility residents.
Per GoodRx, a third shot is called a booster shot because it boosts your immunity. Other vaccines requiring booster shots are the DTaP vaccine, which protects against tetanus, diptheria, and pertussis, and the MMR vaccine that protects against rubella, measles, and mumps. The booster shots will help as COVID-19 continues to spread and create new variants, like the delta variant. So, when can you get one?
When you can get the Pfizer booster shot
GoodRx points out that many vaccine shots you get as a child require three doses, so a booster shot from Pfizer isn't anything new. The FDA said in July that those fully vaccinated are protected against severe cases and death. A booster shot can help keep your immunity strong to continue this type of protection. The COVID-19 vaccine may even become a yearly shot like the flu vaccine.
NPR states the booster shot plan will start being available the week of September 20, 2021. People 18 and older will need a booster shot, and you can get one eight months after your second shot of Pfizer. So, for example, if you received your second shot of Pfizer in March 2021, you'll be eligible for a Pfizer booster shot in October 2021.
According to NPR, the United States Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) said vaccines become less effective over time, so the COVID-19 vaccine's protection against death and severe illness requiring hospitalization could "diminish over time." That's why a booster shot is going to become available — to boost your protection from COVID-19 death and hospitalization.