I hope you are well.
Vaccines
There has been a lot of information regarding a third “booster” shot for patients as the more contagious Delta variant of the coronavirus has taken hold. Currently, the FDA and CDC recommend that people who are immunocompromised receive this dose. Examples of this are as follows:
Active or recent treatment for solid tumor and hematologic malignancies.
Receipt of solid-organ or recent hematopoietic stem cell transplants.
Severe primary immunodeficiency.
Advanced or untreated HIV infection.
Active treatment with high-dose corticosteroids, alkylating agents, antimetabolites, tumor-necrosis blockers, and other biologic agents that are immunosuppressive or immunomodulatory.
I would anticipate that boosters may be recommended for other populations in the future as well. I also recommend that if you do get a booster, get the same shot that was received in the primary series. The immunizations are widely available at Walgreen’s, CVS, and Publix. Please also remember that the CDC is recommending we wear masks in indoor public spaces while the virus is circulating so widely.
Updated NCH COVID information page: https://nchmd.org/news-and-events/newsroom/coronavirus
Sincerely,
Paul Jones MD