COVID Vaccine Boosters: Washington Okays 3rd Pfizer Shot

OLYMPIA, WA — The Washington State Department of Health confirms it is following the FDA's latest advice, and will begin offering booster shots of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to select high-risk individuals.

Under the DOH's new guidance, patients should seek a booster shot six months after finishing the two-dose Pfizer series if they:

• Are 65 years old or older.
• Are 18 years old or older and live in a long-term care facility.
• Are 50 to 64 and have underlying medical conditions or increased risk of social inequities.

Patients who are 18 to 49 years old with underlying medical conditions or people 18 to 64 who are at higher risk of transmisson because of their occupation or living arrangements can also choose to take the Pfizer booster shot.

“COVID-19 vaccines continue to be highly effective in reducing the risk of severe illness, hospitalization, and death, even against the highly transmissible Delta variant,” said Secretary of Health Umair A. Shah, MD, MPH. “As COVID-19 continues to evolve, booster doses will further protect vaccinated people who are at high-risk and those whose protection has decreased over time.”

Boosters have only been approved for patients who have taken the Pfizer vaccine. Boosters for the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines may be announced in the following weeks, the DOH said.

The DOH's announcement comes after the Food and Drug Administration and Centers For Disease Control on Friday announced they were recommending boosters to older or high-risk Americans. Shortly afterwards, the Western States Scientific Safety Review Workshop - which several west coast states, like Washington, Oregon, and California rely on to double-check the accuracy of vaccine studies - gave the booster program its approval, clearing them for use in Washington.

“Vaccines work and I am pleased that the Western State Group is taking this step in endorsing boosters for those who are most vulnerable," Gov. Jay Inslee said. "We need to protect Washingtonians most at risk for severe COVID illness. Providing boosters will help keep our residents safe and allow us to have an added layer of protection as cases, hospitalizations and deaths continue to rise in our state."

Several pharmacies have already begun offering the third booster shot, including CVS, which announced Friday it would immediately begin making boosters available to eligible patients.

“We have the experience and the infrastructure to play a leading role in administering booster shots to eligible populations,” said Troyen A. Brennan, M.D., MPH, Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer of CVS Health. “We also continue to make it as convenient as possible for the unvaccinated to receive their first doses.”