COVID-19 Booster Shots: Where To Find Them In Perry Hall

PERRY HALL, MD — Booster shots, available at pharmacies and clinics in Baltimore County, are the best defense against COVID-19 illnesses as the omicron variant of the coronavirus spreads across the country, according to health officials.

Breakthrough COVID-19 cases from the omicron variant — infections among the vaccinated — are less common among people who have received their third vaccination shots, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The omicron variant, first reported in South Africa on Nov. 24, has been detected in all but a handful of states, including Maryland.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's leading infectious disease expert, said Friday the Pfizer and Moderna booster shots work well against the omicron variant and that there's no need for a specific vaccine to fight it.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the omicron variant is likely to become the dominant coronavirus strain in the coming weeks. It currently represents 3 percent of new infections.

Public health officials are concerned that vaccination rates — currently 61 percent of eligible Americans are fully vaccinated, and only 28 percent have gotten booster shots — are insufficient to fend off a fifth wave of the coronavirus. COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations are increasing, with about 120,000 new cases and 1,200 deaths reported each day, mainly from the delta variant.

To get a booster shot around Perry Hall, go to:

• CVS, 4140 Joppa Road, Baltimore, MD 21236
• CVS, 5230 Campbell Blvd, Nottingham, MD 21236
• CVS, 9820 Belair Road, Perry Hall, MD 21128
• Costco, 9919 Pulaski Highway, Baltimore MD 21220
• Giant Food, 8905 Belair Road Nottingham, MD 21236
• Giant Food, 7944 Honeygo Boulevard Baltimore, MD 21236
• Redner's Pharmacy Joppa, 1002 Joppa Farm Road Joppa, MD 21085. Call 410-679-3804.
• Rite Aid Nottingham, 4339 Ebenezer Road, Nottingham, MD 21236
• Safeway, 9645 Belair Road, Perry Hall, MD 21128
• Walgreens, 9621 Belair Rd., Perry Hall, MD 21128
• Walgreens, 8650 Belair Rd., Perry Hall, MD 21236
• Walmart, 8118 Perry Hills Rd, Nottingham, MD 21236
• Weis, 4126 Joppa Road Baltimore, MD 21236

Here is the Baltimore County Health Department's vaccination clinic schedule:

• 3–7 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 22, at White Marsh Mall, 8200 Perry Hall Boulevard, in the second floor of the former Sears for children and adults.
• 3–7 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 27, at White Marsh Mall, 8200 Perry Hall Boulevard, in the second floor of the former Sears for children and adults.
• 3–7 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 28, at White Marsh Mall, 8200 Perry Hall Boulevard, in the second floor of the former Sears for children and adults.
• 3–7 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 29, at White Marsh Mall, 8200 Perry Hall Boulevard, in the second floor of the former Sears for children and adults.

If you are medically homebound in Baltimore County and unable to travel to a vaccine clinic, please email the Department of Health at COVIDVax@baltimorecountymd.gov or call the COVID-19 hotline at 410-887-3816, and someone will contact you to schedule a time to receive your vaccine in your home.

The CDC says Pfizer and Moderna booster shots both provide increased protection against COVID-19 and helped prevent severe symptoms in breakthrough cases.