Some Los Angeles County-operated vaccination sites will begin offering a second booster dose to residents aged 50 and older starting Wednesday, officials announced.
The move comes after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday authorized another booster shot of Moderna or Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccines for the age group.
The fourth dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines can be taken at least four months after the previous booster.
As of now, only a select few L.A. County vaccination sites will be administering second booster doses for those aged 50 and older. They include:
- Obregon Park in East Los Angeles
- Ted Watkins Park in South Los Angeles
- Balboa Sports Complex in Encino
- Commerce Senior Citizens Center in Commerce
- Market Street Center in Santa Clarita
- Palmdale Oasis Recreation Center
Eligible residents can also check with their health care providers and local pharmacies about getting the second booster dose.
More information on getting vaccinated in L.A. County can be found here.
Previously, the fourth COVID-19 vaccine dose was only authorized for people 12 and older who have weakened immune systems.
Expanding the authorization to those aged 50 and older will make millions more eligible to get a fourth shot to shore up their protection against COVID-19.
The FDA said the second booster dose could help increase protection for the higher-risk group.
While coronavirus cases have been declining in L.A. County and across the U.S. following the winter surge, there has been fears that the super highly omicron variant, BA.2, could bring infection numbers back up.
“Current evidence suggests some waning of protection over time against serious outcomes from COVID-19 in older and immunocompromised individuals. Based on an analysis of emerging data, a second booster dose of either the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine could help increase protection levels for these higher-risk individuals,” said Dr. Peter Marks of the FDA.
