In an effort to keep everyone safe from the virus, CDC and FDA now officially recommend booster dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, DHEC welcomes their decision in a statement

The booster dose is about to officially become a real thing since the FDA and CDC recommended the third vaccine for several categories of people earlier this week.

In an official statement on Friday, the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) said they fully support the latest decision regarding the booster dose in an effort to make everyone safe from the virus.

According to the DHEC director Dr. Brannon Traxler, the booster dose comes just in time claiming the latest decision is very important step in battling the virus in the continued efforts to keep our families and friends safe.

Multiple surveys in the past few months indicated that the effectiveness of the Pfizer vaccine drops withing few months after the second dose, something that was confirmed with the Delta variant in place.

This was especially indicating in elderly people and those with underlying health conditions.

Another very important thing with the booster dose is the fact that the workforce should be kept safe especially those that are regularly exposed to the public such as healthcare workers.

The expectations of the booster those are not only from a health perspective, but also economical since the booster dose will keep businesses up and running leading to sooner recovery of the economy.

The CDC recommendation for third, booster dose comes for a several categories of people:

• People 65 years and older and residents in long-term care settings should receive a booster shot of Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine at least 6 months after their Pfizer-BioNTech primary series,

• People aged 50–64 years with underlying medical conditions should receive a booster shot of Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine at least 6 months after their Pfizer-BioNTech primary series,

• People aged 18–49 years with underlying medical conditions may receive a booster shot of Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine at least 6 months after their Pfizer-BioNTech primary series, based on their individual benefits and risks, and

• People aged 18-64 years who are at increased risk for COVID-19 exposure and transmission because of occupational or institutional setting may receive a booster shot of Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine at least 6 months after their Pfizer-BioNTech primary series, based on their individual benefits and risks.