Cleveland Clinic Offering Pfizer Booster Shots For Eligible Patients

The Cleveland Clinic is now giving Pfizer COVID-19 booster shots to patients eligible under Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) guidelines, officials announced Thursday in a news release. 

Eligible patients include people 65 or older, people in long-term care settings, or anyone over 18 with an underlying medical condition. People whose jobs put them at risk for COVID-19 infection, like health care workers, are also eligible to receive a booster shot.

The booster dose is for those who have already received the Pfizer vaccine for their initial two doses. A booster dose may be given at least six months after the second dose was received.

At this time, booster doses of the COVID-19 vaccine aren't recommended for healthy individuals who have received two doses of the Moderna vaccine or the one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine. It's expected that the FDA will issue guidance about booster shots for these brands soon. 

For people with compromised immune systems, guidance for the booster shot is slightly different. 

The FDA and CDC have already approved third doses of both the Moderna and Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines for certain patients with compromised immune systems who received their first two doses of an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine, according to the press release from the Cleveland Clinic. 

Booster shots for immunocompromised individuals can be given at least 28 days after a patient’s second dose. The Cleveland Clinic is currently offering third doses to eligible immunocompromised patients.

Eligible patients can now schedule their booster dose via  MyChart or by calling 216-448-4117.