Additional Dose of COVID-19 Vaccine Now Recommended for Certain Individuals

Klickitat County Health Department Shares Latest Recommendation from the DOH

Goldendale, WA, August 17, 2021 – Klickitat County Health Department (KCHD) was notified on August 16, 2021 that an additional dose of COVID-19 vaccine will be recommended for certain immunocompromised individuals.

Last week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), and Western States Scientific Safety Review Workgroup recommended a third dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines for certain immunocompromised groups. These groups are more likely to get severely ill from COVID-19 and may benefit from an additional dose. This includes people who:

Are receiving active cancer treatment for tumors or cancers of the blood
Received an organ transplant and are taking medicine to suppress the immune system
Received a stem cell transplant within the last 2 years or are taking medicine to suppress the immune system
Have moderate or severe primary immunodeficiency (such as DiGeorge syndrome, Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome)
Have advanced or untreated HIV infection
Are receiving active treatment with high-dose corticosteroids or other drugs that may suppress the immune response.
While the vaccines are 90 percent effective against most coronavirus variants, studies show that immunocompromised individuals do not always build strong immunity. The third dose is not considered a booster dose, but an additional dose for those who did not develop adequate immunity with the two-dose series.

At this time, people who are not immunocompromised should not receive an additional dose of any COVID-19 vaccine. Healthcare providers are advised to not administer any doses of vaccine beyond the doses recommended by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), even if an individual requests it.

You can read more about considerations for an additional dose of COVID-19 vaccine, including a list of immunocompromising conditions, in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s interim clinical considerations.

You can also see:

for Certain Individuals