UPDATE: Health department, SGMC offer third dose to immunocompromised people

Published 10:45 pm Monday, August 23, 2021

This story has been updated to add that South Health District and SGMC are offering booster vaccine doses to immunocompromised people.

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VALDOSTA – Beginning Monday, Aug. 23, people who are moderately or severely immunocompromised are eligible to receive an additional dose of the COVID-19 vaccination in local health departments.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is recommending that certain patients with weakened immune systems receive an additional dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccine, South District officials said in a statement. The recommendation does not include J&J vaccine recipients at this time.

To receive the additional dose, individuals are required to either have an order from their physician

and/or meet the definition of moderately or severely immunocompromised defined as:

• Active treatment for solid tumor or hematologic malignancies

• Receipt of a 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 (such as DiGeorge syndrome, Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome)

• Advanced or untreated HIV infection

• Active treatment with high-dose corticosteroids (> 20mg prednisone or equivalent per day), alkylating agents, antimetabolites, transplant-related immunosuppressive drugs, cancer chemotherapeutic agents classified as severely immunosuppressive, tumor-necrosis (TNF) blockers, and other biologic agents that are immunosuppressive or immunomodulatory

Individuals should talk to their healthcare provider about their medical condition, and whether getting an additional dose is appropriate for them. Individuals without a physician’s order will be required to sign an attestation form at the health department.

Booster shots for other individuals are expected to begin in late September.

To schedule a COVID-19 vaccination first or additional dose appointment, call your local health department.

In addition to vaccination, other steps that individuals can take to protect themselves and others from COVID-19 include: mask wearing (for vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals) in areas of high transmission, social distancing, hand washing and avoiding crowded settings.

For the most up-to-date information on COVID-19 or to schedule an appointment for testing, visit southhealthdistrict.com/covid19 and like South Health District on Facebook.

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VALDOSTA – South Georgia Medical Center is offering an additional shot of the COVID-19 vaccine to individuals who are moderately to severely immunocompromised as per Centers for Disease Control guidelines.

According to the CDC, people who are currently receiving active cancer treatment for tumors or cancers of the blood, have received an organ transplant and are taking medication for their immune system, have received a stem cell transplant within the last two years, have moderate or severe primary immunodeficiency, have advanced or untreated HIV, or active treatment with high-dose corticosteroids or other drugs for the immune system will fall into this category.

“This group of people are at high risk to contract the virus, and we’re very happy to be able to offer them the third dose. We’ve seen many different types of people come get the first two vaccines and they’re just so excited to receive them, now being able to offer an extra dose of protection to those most vulnerable will just be another step in helping us move past this pandemic,” said Scarlett Rivera, SGMC director of infection control.

SGMC is administering third doses of both Pfizer and Moderna and will provide individuals with the same mRNA vaccine they received for their first two doses as a continuation of their series, hospital officials said in a statement. 

SGMC Smith Northview Campus, 4280 North Valdosta Road, is administering COVID-19 vaccinations to individuals who qualify, 9:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday through Friday.

“SGMC will continue to follow CDC guidelines as eligibility for the third dose expands,” hospital officials said. 

For more information visit sgmc.org.