PORT ARTHUR, Texas — The health departments in Beaumont and Port Arthur are offering a second booster shot to those who are 50 years of age and older or who have a weakened immune system.
(Editor's note: The above video is from a March 29 newscast.)
The City of Port Arthur is offering a second COVID-19 vaccination booster to those who qualify. Those who qualify and want to get the booster can get it free of charge at the Texas Artist’s Museum located at 301 Cultural Center Drive.
Vaccines and boosters will be administered from Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Officials with the Beaumont Health Department ask that those who wish to get their second dose call 409-654-3647 and make an appointment. The Beaumont Health Department is located at 3040 College.
Appointments can be made from Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.
On Tuesday, March 29, the Food and Drug Administration authorized an extra dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine for those who are 50 years of age and older and for certain younger people with severely weakened immune systems.
Health officials are recommending that those who want to get their second booster get it four months after receiving their first booster dose.
- A second booster dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine can be given to those 50 years of age and older
- A second dose of the Pfizer vaccine may also be given to those who are 12 years of age and older and immunocompromised
- A second booster dose of the Moderna vaccine may also be given to those who are 18 years of age and older and immunocompromised
- Those who received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine and booster dose four months prior may get a second booster dose using an mRNA vaccine.
Officials with the CDC recommended the extra shot as an option and are not urging that those eligible rush to get it right away. Health officials recommended the second booster for "higher-risk groups," due to evidence that protection begins to wane.
Health experts said that those that have not gotten their first booster yet need to. They believe none of the COVID-19 vaccines are as strong against the omicron variant as they were against earlier versions of the virus.
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