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PARKERSBURG -- Residents are being referred by the Mid-Ohio Valley Health Department to their health care provider, pharmacies and vaccines.gov to arrange for a second COVID-19 coronavirus booster shot.
The health department will not hold large-scale vaccination clinics because of low demand for the shots, spokesman Malcomb Lanham said. The department will provide booster shots for home-bound residents, he said.
Less than 20 people at each of three recent clinics took advantage of the booster shots, he said. The clinics were held during the week and the weekend, Lanham said.
The department also has received less than five calls a day about the booster shot, he said.
The move also will prevent wasting vaccine after a vial is opened, Lanham said.
Booster shots will be available from numerous other sources, including from health providers and pharmacies, Lanham said. Residents can find the sources at vaccines.gov, he said.
Earlier this week, the Centers for Disease Control and the Food and Drug Administration approved second booster shots for the Moderna and Pfizer mRNA vaccines for residents 50 and older or are immunocompromised who are four months out from their first booster shot. People who received the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine and booster can get a second booster from the Moderna or Pfizer vaccines provided they got the last shot four months ago.
The agencies cited research from Israel that showed second boosters increased antibody levels against the virus and lessened the chance of death or hospitalization.
The Washington County Health Department will continue with regularly scheduled vaccination clinics but does not plan any additional events, said Sherry Ellem, public information officer. Vaccinations have picked up some with the authorization of the additional booster but there is not the push from the earliest days when shots were available, she said.