Marylanders Can 'Mix And Match' COVID-19 Boosters: Governor

Baltimore MD

22 October, 2021

1:43 PM

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MARYLAND — As Maryland aims to boost immunity against the coronavirus, Gov. Larry Hogan announced those eligible for booster shots can "mix and match" their shots. "Eligible Marylanders may now choose which vaccine they want for a booster, even if it is different from what they received initially," Hogan said in a statement Friday, Oct. 22. This week, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its recommendations around boosters. Previously, only some Pfizer and Moderna vaccine recipients were eligible to get a third shot. Now those who have received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine can also get a booster, as well. The CDC also authorized on Thursday "mixing and matching" booster shots, whether people got doses of the Pfizer, Moderna or Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines. Six months after getting a Pfizer or Moderna vaccine or two months after the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine, the CDC advises getting a booster. People who fit these groups are eligible for the booster shot: 65 years and olderAge 18 and up living in long-term care settingsAge 18 and up with underlying medical conditionsAge 18 and up who work or live in high-risk settingsFirst responders (police officers, firefighters, EMT)Health care workersCongregate care staffEducation staff (teachers, support staff, day-care workers)Food service workersAgriculture workersManufacturing workersCorrections workersU.s. Postal Service workersPublic transit workersGrocery store workers Vaccine providers must give the booster to anyone who identifies themselves as a member of the groups above, according to the governor's guidance. "Effective immediately, state health officials are authorizing providers to make Moderna and Johnson & Johnson booster shots available to eligible recipients," Hogan said. "Maryland took this same decisive step when the federal government authorized the Pfizer vaccine as a booster shot for eligible individuals in September." More than 250,000 booster shots have been given in Maryland, Hogan reported Friday. "Booster shots provide additional protection for vulnerable people, which is why we have been pressing the federal government since August for clear guidance," Hogan said. "We continue to have both the supply and the capacity to provide a booster shot to anyone who needs one." Over 85.6 percent of Marylanders age 18 and up have gotten at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, according to the Maryland Department of Health. More than 60 percent of the state's eligible population has had a second dose of the shot as of Friday. Find a vaccination site near you in Maryland. "From day one of this crisis, our focus has been on preventing hospitalization and deaths," the Hogan said. "Our initial COVID strategy was one of containment, which became mitigation, then vaccination, and we are now focused on maintaining immunity." More than 554,000 cases of the coronavirus have been confirmed in Maryland since the pandemic began, including 27,420 among fully vaccinated residents, according to state health officials. Among those who have been vaccinated, 1,995 were hospitalized and 261 have died of COVID-19, state health data shows. "All three COVID-19 vaccines authorized in the United States are safe," CDC Director Dr. Rochelle P. Walensky said in a statement regarding the expanded eligibility for booster shots, which she called "highly effective in reducing the risk of severe disease, hospitalization, and death, even in the midst of the widely circulating Delta variant." Health experts say that the vaccines prevent people from getting more seriously ill from COVID-19, and the boosters increase immunity, which can wane over time. Over 10,500 people in Maryland have died from COVID-19, according to state health data. More than 650 people are hospitalized with the virus Friday in Maryland, data shows. "Marylanders who are still unvaccinated remain at the greatest risk of contracting and spreading COVID-19 and highly contagious variants, hospitalization, and death," Maryland's Assistant Health Secretary Webster Ye said in new guidance for vaccine providers. He noted that people who get the COVID-19 vaccine can get their flu shot at the same time, and urged: "It is important for providers, including retail pharmacies, not to miss any opportunity to vaccinate every eligible person who presents at vaccine clinics." See Also: COVID Booster: Hogan Asks Eligible MD Residents To Get The ShotStudent COVID Vaccines Should Not Be Mandated In MD: Patch Survey