This information is based on an update from the Oregon Health Authority.

There is strong movement toward a COVID vaccine booster which would be given beginning at eight months after the second dose of the vaccine was received. The FDA meets to discuss the booster on Friday, September 17. If this results in approval, the booster decision must also proceed through these steps before we can begin administering a third dose to patients:

• Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices

• CDC program requirements and recommendations

If a booster dose moves forward, people who were first to receive a COVID-19 vaccination when they became available earlier this year are likely to be the first people eligible for a booster. This includes healthcare providers, residents of long-term care facilities, and other older adults. The content of the booster will be the same as whichever vaccine you received earlier.

NOTE: On September 17, a scientific advisory committee to the FDA recommended authorizing a booster shot for those who had received the Pfizer vaccine and are 65+ or at high risk of severe COVID. The committee recommended against approving it for people 16+. This recommendation will be used by the FDA to make a decision about the booster in the coming week.