Adults from Pickering to Clarington now eligible for second booster shot

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Published July 20, 2022 at 3:22 pm

All adults in Durham region can now book a fourth dose (second booster dose) of the COVID-19 vaccine to individuals 18 and older.

Residents can book appointments at community immunization clinics by visiting durham.ca/vaccineappointment. No walk-ins will be available. Eligible residents can also receive their second booster dose at participating pharmacies and health care providers.

The recommended wait period after getting your first booster shot is five months (140 days) though you can get the second booster after 84 days with informed consent.

Vaccines provided will be Pfizer Comirnaty BioNTech and Moderna Spikevax.

If you have had a recent COVID-19 infection, it is recommended to wait three months after symptoms started or after testing positive to receive your first or second booster dose.

The Ontario Chief Medical Officer of Health has confirmed that we are now in the seventh wave of the pandemic. Locally, COVID-19 wastewater signals and outbreak data have shown increased disease activity over the past few weeks. Evidence is emerging that vaccine effectiveness against infection and COVID-19 disease decreases with time; booster doses provide an added layer of protection against severe illness and hospitalization from COVID-19, particularly for individuals who are at higher risk of severe disease from COVID-19.

Durham Region Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Robert Kyle is encouraging residents who are at higher risk of severe disease from COVID-19 to get their first and second booster doses as soon as they become eligible. Groups at higher risk of severe disease from COVID-19 include:

  • Individuals 60 and older.
  • First Nation, Inuit and Métis individuals and their non-Indigenous household members (18 and older).
  • Residents of long-term care homes, retirement homes, or elder care lodges, and older adults living in other congregate settings that provide assisted-living and health services.
  • Individuals who are moderately to severely immunocompromised.

For more information on COVID-19 vaccines visit durham.ca/covidvaccines. Individuals who have questions about whether a second booster dose is right for them should speak to their health care provider.

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