Where To Get Your 2nd Booster In Colorado And Who's Eligible

COLORADO — Coloradans ages 50 and older, and those who are immunocompromised, can now receive their second COVID-19 booster, state health officials announced Wednesday evening.

The news comes after both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration recommended a fourth dose for those who are eligible.

The most recent list of vaccine providers in Colorado can be found here. You can also call Colorado’s Vaccine Hotline at 1-877-268-2926 for assistance with finding where to get vaccinated.

Those eligible can get either the Pfizer or Moderna booster at least four months after getting the first booster from either vaccine manufacturer. For those 12 and older who are immunocompromised, the FDA authorized a second Pfizer booster at least four months after the initial booster. The Moderna booster may be given to those 18 and older who are immunocompromised after the same period.

More than a million Coloradans are eligible for their second booster, but federal funding will be crucial to equitable distribution, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment said.

“We urge Congress to secure funding to purchase enough vaccine doses for all and invest in variant-specific vaccines or a pan-COVID vaccine protecting against a range of variants should the science and data demonstrate the need,” said Diana Herrero, deputy director for the Division of Disease Control and Public Health Response at the Colorado public health agency.

In its announcement, the FDA cited evidence of waning immunity in older and immunocompromised people, and it urged anyone who has not gotten their initial booster dose to do so.

"Based on an analysis of emerging data, a second booster dose of either the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine could help increase protection levels for these higher-risk individuals," said Dr. Peter Marks, director of the FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research. "Additionally, the data show that an initial booster dose is critical in helping to protect all adults from the potentially severe outcomes of COVID-19. So, those who have not received their initial booster dose are strongly encouraged to do so."

The agency said the benefits of the second booster outweigh any risks among these groups. For anyone else, the authorization of the first booster dose remains unchanged.

COVID-19 case numbers, hospitalizations and deaths are declining nationwide, but health officials are keeping an eye on the worrying omicron subvariant, BA.2, or "stealth omicron," which has caused new cases to more than double in the United Kingdom in recent weeks, National Public Radio reported.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.