Schenectady County Public Health Services is now offering additional COVID-19 vaccine doses for eligible individuals at all County vaccine PODs.
Last week the New York State Department of Health authorized all providers currently enrolled in the NYS COVID-19 vaccination program to administer an additional (third) dose for certain people who are moderately or severely immunocompromised due to a medical condition or receipt of immunosuppressive medications or treatments. Individuals must have completed a Moderna or Pfizer vaccine 2-dose series at least 28 days prior to receiving an additional (third) dose and fill out a self-attestation form at the vaccine POD.
“If you qualify for an additional COVID-19 vaccine dose, just bring your vaccination card to one of our County-run vaccine PODs or your local pharmacy – no referral or doctor’s note is required,” said Schenectady County Legislator Sara Mae Pratt, Vice-Chair of the Health & Human Services Committee. “If you aren’t sure if you qualify, reach out to your primary care provider to discuss what’s best for you.”
Eligible conditions and treatments include but are not limited to:
- Active treatment for solid tumor and hematologic malignancies;
- Receipt of 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 (e.g., DiGeorge syndrome, Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome);
- Advanced or untreated HIV infection; and
- Active treatment with high-dose corticosteroids (i.e. ≥ 20mg prednisone or equivalent per day), alkylating agents, 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.
For a list of County vaccine PODs, visit www.schenectadycounty.com/COVID19/vaccine.