Why Get Vaccinated?
To stop this pandemic, we need to use all of our prevention tools. Vaccines are one of the most effective tools to protect your health and prevent disease. Vaccines work with your body’s natural defenses so your body will be ready to fight the virus, if you are exposed (also called immunity). Other steps, like wearing a mask that covers your nose and mouth and staying at least 6 feet away from other people you don’t live with, also help stop the spread of COVID-19. Studies show that COVID-19 vaccines are very effective at keeping you from getting COVID-19. Experts also think that getting a COVID-19 vaccine may help keep you from getting seriously ill even if you do get COVID-19. These vaccines cannot give you the disease itself.
To Protect Yourself, Your Coworkers, Your Family, and Your Community It all starts with you. Building defenses against COVID-19 in our community is a team effort and you are a key part of that defense. Getting the COVID-19 vaccine adds one more layer of protection for you, your coworkers, and family. There are several healthcare providers and pharmacies in the community, that provide the COVID-19 vaccine. Please call the Monroe County Health Department for more information, 270-487-6782. Visit https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/toolkits.html to learn more about the benefits of getting a COVID-19 vaccine.
Visit Kentucky's online county level vaccine dashboard to view state and county-level vaccine percentages by age.
- COVID Tracker
https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#variant-proportions
- Vaccine Tracker
https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#county-view
3rd Dose vs. Booster
3rd dose of mRNA vaccine:
On August 12th, the FDA amended the emergency use authorizations (EUAs) for both the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine and the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine to allow for the use of an additional (3rd) dose in certain immunocompromised individuals. This is not a booster dose, but rather an additional dose that is given at least 28 days after the second dose. For most people, sufficient immunity develops after 2 doses, however in certain individuals, they have found that it may take 3 doses to get to a level of immunity that’s protective. The 3rd dose would be the same brand that you received the first two doses and is recommended for the below immunocompromised individuals:
• Active treatment for solid tumor and 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
Booster dose:
On September 23rd, CDC’s independent Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommended certain populations receive a booster shot of Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 Vaccine at least six months after the completion of their Pfizer vaccine primary series.
CDC recommends:
•people 65 years and older and residents in long-term care settings should receive a booster shot of Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine at least 6 months after their Pfizer-BioNTech primary series;
•people aged 50 to 64 with certain underlying medical conditions should receive a booster shot of Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine at least 6 months after their Pfizer-BioNTech primary series;
•people 18 to 49 who are at high risk for severe COVID-19 due to certain underlying medical conditions may receive a booster shot of Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine at least 6 months after their Pfizer-BioNTech primary series, based on their individual benefits and risks; and
•people aged 18-64 years who are at increased risk for COVID-19 exposure and transmission because of occupational or institutional setting may receive a booster shot of Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine at least 6 months after their Pfizer-BioNTech primary series, based on their individual benefits and risks.
Currently, Pfizer is the only vaccine brand in which a booster dose has been approved. Booster doses are an additional dose, due to the potential that over time, the protection you generated from the first two may be waning. Or it’s also possible that the protection that you got from the first two may not work as well against a new strain, such as the delta strain that’s circulating now, etc.
