All California adults who want a COVID booster shot can get one now, state says
All California adults who received their original COVID-19 shots six months ago and think they would benefit from a booster should get one, California’s top health official Dr. Mark Ghaly said Wednesday.
Speaking at a press conference in Los Angeles, Ghaly said that guidance is in line with the federal government’s eligibility rules for booster shots, which say anyone over 18 who got their vaccines at least six months ago and has an underlying medical condition or works or lives in a high-risk setting may get one.
“If you think you will benefit from getting a booster shot, I encourage you to go out and get it. Supply is available,” he said, adding that the administration is working with pharmacies and health care providers to “make sure that no one’s turned away.”
In addition to describing who may get a booster, the federal government has also detailed which people should definitely get one. That includes people who received the Johnson & Johnson shot more than two months ago, anyone over 65, adults who live in long-term care facilities and anyone over 50 with an underlying health condition that puts them at greater risk.
Ghaly encouraged Californians to get both their COVID boosters and flu shots before gathering with others for Thanksgiving and the winter holidays.
The Newsom administration is bracing for a winter surge of COVID-19 cases. Already state officials are starting to see some COVID-19 numbers tick up, which Ghaly and Gov. Gavin Newsom say foreshadows a surge, just like other states and countries with colder climates are already seeing. Last year, California and the rest of the country suffered from massive surges in COVID-19 infections as cold weather drove people inside, where the virus spreads more easily.
Even though vaccines are widely available now, Newsom says his government is working to ensure California hospitals have enough staff to handle an influx of coronavirus patients, including looking at bringing in medical workers from out of state.
“We are... making sure that we’re not in the back of the line,” Newsom told an Associated Press reporter after the press conference at a vaccine clinic. “If we start to see a big winter surge across other parts of the country, we don’t want to be competing. We want to be prepared.”
Ghaly said flu patients could also overwhelm hospitals this winter, and urged Californians to get those shots, too.
Getting vaccinated against the coronavirus will help keep communities safe, but also individuals, Ghaly said. Vaccinated people are five times less likely to catch COVID and 20 times less likely to die from it, he said.
Get that added protection for the Thanksgiving gatherings that you may attend,” Ghaly said. “Now is the best time to consider getting that shot.”
This story was originally published November 10, 2021 at 1:38 PM with the headline "All California adults who want a COVID booster shot can get one now, state says."