South Central Health District to administer 3rd COVID-19 vaccine doses

DUBLIN, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) — Monday morning a news release from the Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) was posted announcing that a 3rd additional dose of the COVID vaccine would be available for patients fitting certain qualifications starting August 23, 2021.

According to the release, those with, “moderate to severe immune compromise due to a medical condition, or receipt of immunosuppressive medications or treatments”  are eligible to get an additional dose of the COVID-19 vaccine at least 28 days after getting the initial Pfizer or Moderna vaccine series. In the post it states that vaccines will only be given in health departments during their regular business hours.

The release says recipients of the J&J vaccine will not be considered eligible to get this additional shot as its only available to those with the Pfizer and Moderna shots and that people with the following conditions would be considered for the 3rd dose:

• Active treatment for solid tumor and hematologic malignancies
• Receipt of a solid-organ transplant and taking immunosuppressive therapy
• Receipt of CAR-T- cell or hematopoietic stem cell transplant (within 2 years of transplantation or taking immunosuppression therapy)
• Moderate or severe primary immunodeficiency (Such as DiGeorge syndrome, Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome)
• Advanced or untreated HIV infection
• Active treatment with high-dose corticosteroids, alkylating agnets, antimetabolites, transplant-related immunosuppressive drugs, cancer chemotherapeutic agents classified as severely immunosuppressive, tumor-necrosis (TNF) blockers, and other biologic agents that are immunosuppressive or immunomodulatory

The tweet from the South Central Health District can be seen here:

Beginning today, a third additional dose for qualified immunosuppressed patients as listed below will be available across South Central Health District. Vaccines will NOT be given at testing sites, only in health departments during their regular business hours. pic.twitter.com/nhCoYuWz8m

— South Central Health (@SCHD_5_1) August 23, 2021