Juan Salinas
campus editor
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Oct. 21 recommended COVID-19 booster shots for individuals who received a Pfizer or Moderna vaccine.
The booster is recommended for people who are either 65 and older, have underlying medical conditions, live or work in high-risk areas more than six months after receiving a second vaccine dose. The CDC also allowed people who are fully vaccinated to get a booster shot different from their original vaccine.
“These recommendations are another example of our fundamental commitment to protect as many people as possible from COVID-19,” CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said in a statement. “The evidence shows that all three COVID-19 vaccines authorized in the United States are safe – as demonstrated by the over 400 million vaccine doses already given. And, they are all highly effective in reducing the risk of severe disease, hospitalization and death, even in the midst of the widely circulating Delta variant.”
This was followed by a Food and Drug Administration panel that recommended a Moderna booster shot to people over the age of 65 and other vulnerable groups. Two weeks ago, the same panel recommended that Johnson & Johnson vaccine recipients older than 18 receive a booster shot two months after receiving the first.
These recommendations come after health experts and scientists earlier this month asked the Biden administration to halt its plans to distribute booster shots to fully vaccinated Americans, saying there is not enough data to justify it yet.
Also, the federal government has received criticism from the World Health Organization about pursuing booster shots while third-world countries still have a low percentage of the population to receive the first dose of the vaccine.
“I definitely think that they would come first as far as a priority over us since we already have access to that,” NW student Sara Patterson said.
In Tarrant County, 60.2% of the population has been fully vaccinated, and with the authorization of boosters, the number of people getting vaccinated is increasing, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
NW student Connor Gax said he is open to getting a booster shot but won’t because he isn’t in the risk groups that the FDA and CDC approved.
“I’m fine with my two doses already,” he said.
Twenty-five people voted in an online poll The Collegian conducted, and 83% of those students said they would get a booster shot if given the opportunity.
On the state level, Gov. Greg Abbott signed a new executive order Oct. 11 banning private businesses from having vaccine mandates for entry.
NW student Cynthia Maldonado expressed her disapproval of the order. She said if the government doesn’t actively try to enforce vaccination, Texans will be stuck in a COVID roller coaster.
“I understand that not everybody wants to get the vaccine, but then they don’t want to wear the mask either,” she said.
Abbott called a special session on the issue, but the Legislature failed to pass anything by the Oct. 19 deadline after business groups lobbied against it, according to the Texas Tribune.
TCC is currently offering booster shots to anyone who is immune-compromised and over the age of 12. To schedule an appointment, visit the COVID-19 updates page on the TCC website.
