Are You Eligible for a COVID-19 Vaccine Booster Shot?

John Whyte, MD

September 24, 2021

Find the latest COVID-19 news and guidance in Medscape's Coronavirus Resource Center.

JOHN WHYTE: Hi, everyone. I'm Dr. John Whyte, the Chief Medical Officer at WebMD. Should you get a booster? You might have been hearing different things lately.

FDA says something, CDC says something. Here's what you need to know. If you're over the age of 65, if you're a resident in a nursing home, if you're over the age of 18 but you have some underlying health condition -- diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease -- or if you're a frontline worker, and by that I mean grocery store employees, teachers, people that work in the health profession, it's recommended that you get your booster 6 months after your second shot.

Now, remember, this only applies to those persons who got the Pfizer vaccine. I expect we'll know more about Moderna and Johnson & Johnson in the next few weeks. But right now, it only applies to those persons who got the Pfizer vaccine.

You might be saying, hey, can I get Pfizer if I got Moderna or Johnson & Johnson? Right now, that's not recommended. But you could talk to your doctor about whether that's an option for you. If you have questions, drop me a note, drjohn@webmd.net.

This interview originally appeared on WebMD on September 24, 2021

Follow Medscape on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube

Any views expressed above are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect the views of WebMD or Medscape.

Cite this: John Whyte. Are You Eligible for a COVID-19 Vaccine Booster Shot? - Medscape - Sep 24, 2021.

Comments

Commenting is limited to medical professionals. To comment please Log-in.

Comments on Medscape are moderated and should be professional in tone and on topic. You must declare any conflicts of interest related to your comments and responses. Please see our Commenting Guide for further information. We reserve the right to remove posts at our sole discretion.

Return to Article

Post as: