According to a top Nevada vaccination official, people in “every occupation” are eligible for an extra shot of the Pfizer vaccine if they believe their job puts them at higher risk for COVID-19.According to Karissa Loper, a health bureau chief with the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services, those who have already received two doses of the Pfizer vaccine should “assess their own risk in their occupation” to determine if they need a booster shot.
“Every occupation is covered and may seek that vaccine booster,” said Loper.State officials used their vaccine rollout playbook, a document listing hundreds of jobs that make up Nevada’s front-line essential workforce, as a guide for determining eligibility during a media briefing.In practise, occupational eligibility is “based on their own personal assessment of their risk of exposure to COVID-19 in their workplace setting,” Loper said at the state’s weekly coronavirus briefing, which will be held every other week in the future.
Loper’s remarks come just a week after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention approved Pfizer booster shots for specific populations who have already received a double dose. The federal agency advised those 65 and older, as well as those 50 to 64 with underlying health conditions, to get a booster shot.
The CDC also stated that those 18 and older with underlying conditions and working in certain jobs, such as health care workers and teachers, may be eligible for a booster based on a personal risk assessment. The agency did not recommend boosters for these groups. Nevada is taking a broad interpretation of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s guidance, which listed eight occupational groups as eligible for booster shots on Monday.
It could also be a practical approach, given that people across the country are being asked to self-attest to their eligibility based on job or health status rather than document it.The vaccine playbook was used early in the vaccination rollout to determine who would be at the front of the line for a dose when supplies were low. Even with the door thrown open to all occupations for boosters, supply is no longer an issue.
“There is an ample supply of the Pfizer vaccine throughout the state, both in urban and rural settings,” Loper said.According to the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services, the state has administered more than 29,000 third doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines since mid-August, when people with severely or moderately weakened immune systems due to an organ transplant or other serious medical condition were authorised to receive an extra dose. In the previous 10 days, nearly half of the doses, or nearly 14,000 doses, were administered.
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