Now that Pfizer’s COVID-19 booster shot has been given approval for those 65 and older and with underlying health conditions, President Joe Biden is getting his shot Monday morning, setting a nationwide example.
This comes after last week’s confusion on what the guidance should be according to various agencies, like the CDC and the FDA.
All of that has been relatively cleared up, said Dr. Brad Pollock, Professor of Epidemiology, Chairman of the Department of Public Health Sciences, and Associate Dean and Rolkin Chair in Public Health Sciences at UC Davis on Monday’s Ask an Expert.
The consensus has been unanimous about getting people over the age of 65 vaccinated, said Pollock to KCBS Radio's Holly Quan and Dan Mitchinson. “As someone who has a mother living in an assisted living facility down in LA, I know they’re planning on having the retail pharmacy come in and start doing the booster doses fairly soon,” he said.
And now that the administering the booster is underway, attention has turned back again to what's going on with the country's youth.
With young children aged 5-11, approval for the Pfizer vaccine to come through and then have shots begin to be distributed will most likely begin before Halloween. “The trials are pretty much complete right now,” said Pollock.
And not a moment too soon. That age group is only about 9% of the country’s population, but as health officials have seen, with schools now open, “it’s going to be important to get that segment of the population vaccinated.”
Although the vaccine is available for slightly older children, aged 12-17, they are getting vaccinated at a lower rate than the overall national average. “We want to make sure we get those adolescents and teenagers get vaccinated as well.”
For those getting the booster shot now, while physicians are recommending testing negative first, “there is no hard and fast rule,” for that, said Pollock.
“It’s really up to physicians to make that decision,” he said.
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