Contra Costa Health Services (CCHS) and its community health partners are committed to ensuring safe, efficient and equitable access to COVID-19 booster vaccines for all eligible county residents.
COVID-19 vaccines have proven to be highly effective at preventing infections and serious illness from the virus, including the delta variant. As with most vaccines, that protection reduces over time.
That is why the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) and the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) Crecommend that certain groups of people who completed a two-dose series of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine to receive a booster dose of Pfizer six months afterward or later.
People previously vaccinated with the Pfizer vaccine who should receive a booster, according to the CDPH, include:
- those who are 65 or older
- residents of long-term care facilities
- those who are 50 to 64 with underlying medical conditions or who are at increased risk of severe COVID-19 due to social inequities, including those from communities of color
People previously vaccinated with the Pfizer vaccine who may consider receiving a booster, based on their individual benefits and risks, include:
- those who are 18 to 49 with underlying medical conditions
- those who are 18 to 64 and at increased risk of exposure to COVID-19 due to their occupation or institutional setting
Booster doses of vaccine are not currently recommended for others, including people who received Moderna or Johnson & Johnson (Janssen) vaccine. CCHS will promptly post updates at cchealth.org/coronavirus as more information becomes available.
The best place for most Contra Costa residents to seek COVID-19 vaccine is through their own healthcare providers or their local neighborhood pharmacies. COVID-19 vaccine is now plentiful, and CCHS is in regular communication with community healthcare providers, clinics and pharmacies to ensure that all eligible residents can access vaccine.
“Last winter, when COVID-19 vaccines were new and in short supply, many of our residents needed to wait months to get vaccinated,” said Dr. Chris Farnitano, Contra Costa’s health officer. “Now that pharmacies and healthcare providers are well stocked with vaccine, there are many easy options to get both a COVID-19 vaccine and a flu shot to be protected this winter.”
CCHS and its county healthcare partners, including large healthcare systems, community clinics and local pharmacies, currently have the capacity to provide more than 25,500 doses of COVID-19 vaccine each week.
Appointments for booster doses are now available at CCHS’s free vaccination clinics in Antioch, Concord and Richmond. Patients are required to attest that they meet the CDC and CDPH requirements to receive booster doses. Make an appointment online or by calling 1-833-829-2626.
So far more than 85% of Contra Costa residents who are 12 or older have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, and more than 80% are fully vaccinated. Unvaccinated residents are about five times more likely to become infected with COVID-19 in Contra Costa, compared to vaccinated residents, and 16 times more likely to be hospitalized.
For information about pharmacies and providers that offer COVID-19 vaccine in Contra Costa County, visit our Get Vaccinated page.
Information released by Contra Costa County Health Services
1 comment
So the first one didn’t work so you get a second. The second doesn’t work so you get a booster. I am guessing we will need another booster every month to be free again. Besides big pharma needs the money.
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