Last week, the CDC and Oregon Health Authority authorized COVID boosters for many more adults. The booster authorizations were based on manufacturer and organized that way, but regulators now allow you to receive a combination of vaccine types.

When you go for your booster, the clinician will be checking your eligibility based on the dose you are about to receive, not what you received for your first dose(s). For example, if you received Johnson & Johnson for your first dose, and Moderna is what's available, that is acceptable as long as you meet the criteria listed for the Moderna booster. The latest authorizations follow:

Moderna Booster

Patients who meet the criteria below and received their second dose of Moderna or Pfizer at least six months ago (or who received their Johnson & Johnson dose more than two months ago):

• People 65 years and older

• People 18 years and older with an underlying medical condition

• People 18 years and older working in an occupation with a high risk of COVID exposure

• People 18 years and older living in a long-term care setting

Johnson & Johnson Booster

• All people 18 years of age and older who received their first dose at least two months ago

Pfizer had already been authorized as a booster for similar groups. Read more on our website: https://www.oregonmedicalgroup.com/news-feed/sept-27-covid-booster-update

Where to Get Your Booster

Due to staffing constraints, we are not able to schedule visits for booster vaccines at this time. (It may be possible to receive your booster if you have an upcoming office visit with one of our primary care providers.) Instead, schedule with one of the Lane County Public Health vaccine clinics or with your local pharmacy. Scheduling with Lane County, and a list of pharmacies and more information is available here: http://www.lanecountyor.gov/coronavirus

 We hope to be able to provide boosters for patients in the future, but heavily encourage you to get your booster as soon as you are eligible. We do not know when we will be able to provide boosters. We will announce it by eNews, on our website and via social media when the time comes.