Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Several eligible categories can get optional COVID booster

POLK COUNTY—Booster shots for several categories of people are now available in the area. 

The immunocompromised persons were first to be eligible for the booster and now others, including those 65 years old and older and people working in healthcare and educational facilities are eligible. 

The optional boosters are available for people who received the Moderna, Pfizer or Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines. Eligible persons of the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines can get a booster after 6 months of being vaccinated and persons with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine who are eligible can receive the booster after 2 months of receiving the vaccine. 

Eligible people currently are those age 65 and older; those 18 and older who live or work in a nursing home or long-term care facility; have underlying medical conditions; work in high-risk settings such as healthcare workers, teachers, childcare providers or food workers or work or live in a place where many people live together such as shelters, correctional facilities, migrant farm housing, dormitories or other group living settings in colleges or universities. 

Several locations are administering the booster in the area, including pharmacies, doctor’s offices and the Polk County Health Department. Most pharmacies offer walk-in services, where doctor’s offices and the health department will need an appointment. 

To get a booster through the county, people can call the COVID message line at 828-722-5086. Other information about COVID can be found on the county’s website at polknc.org.