Governor Murphy announced today during his weekly COVID-19 press briefing that certain individuals are now eligible to get Pfizer’s booster shot. In order to be eligible, you must have received both doses of the Pfizer vaccine at least six months ago. Here’s who is eligible from that group:
- People 65 years old and older
- Residents in long-term care settings
- People age 50-64 with underlying medical conditions
- Those who are 18-49 years with underlying medical conditions based on their individual benefits and risks
- People age 18-64 who are at increased risk for COVID-19 exposure and transmission because of occupational or institutional settings, including healthcare workers, based on their individual benefits and risks
Murphy also clarified that this booster is only available to fully vaccinated individuals who initially got the Pfizer vaccine. If you are fully vaccinated, but got the Moderna or Johnson & Johnson shots, you are currently not eligible to receive a booster.
Department of Health commissioner Judy Persichilli added that underlying medical conditions included in this booster authorization are cancer, chronic kidney disease, chronic lung disease, dementia or other neurological conditions, diabetes Types 1 & 2, Down syndrome, heart conditions, HIV or immunocompromised situations, liver disease, pregnancy, obesity, sickle cell disease, smoking, organ or blood stem transplant, stroke and more. This does not include all of the medical conditions that might put people at an increased risk for contracting COVID-19. If you aren’t sure if your condition makes you eligible, consult with your primary care physician.
Persichilli said that examples of occupational or institutional settings are people who work in homeless shelters, group homes, prisons, people who work with vulnerable populations, healthcare workers, teachers, grocery store workers, public transportation employees and other high-risk settings.
There are currently 5,832,852 New Jersey residents that are fully vaccinated. A total of 108,397 of those have already received a third booster dose.
To find a vaccination site doing boosters near you, visit covid19.nj.gov/vaccine. Murphy added that the Gloucester megasite had been reopened in anticipation of needed booster doses, and said that some other megasites would be reopening at a later date.