CDC Shortens COVID-19 Booster Interval for Some Immunocompromised Patients

NOTE:  The following information was published March 4, 2022. For current information, please visit LVHN.org/vaccines.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently updated its guidance to shorten the COVID-19 booster shot waiting time for moderately or severely immunocompromised patients receiving either the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna mRNA vaccines.

The CDC now says Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine recipients 12 and older and Moderna vaccine recipients 18 and older can get a booster shot three months after completing the two-dose COVID-19 vaccine series and receiving the third dose (additional primary dose), down from the previously recommended five-month intervals.

Moderate to severely immunocompromised individuals 18 and older who received a single dose of the Johnson & Johnson (J&J) vaccine should receive an additional dose of a Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccine 28 days after the J&J vaccine. A booster shot of either of the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccine is recommended two months after the second shot. That time frame has not changed.

Lehigh Valley Health Network (LVHN) urges all those eligible to get vaccinated against COVID-19 and to get booster shots when appropriate.