Gov. Ned Lamont is encouraging Connecticut adults to get a COVID-19 booster vaccination.
“We’re 11 months into the vaccination program. In my view, if you were vaccinated more than six months ago, you’re not fully vaccinated,” Lamont said.
“If you were vaccinated more than six months ago, now is the time and go get that booster. I urge you to get it now,” Lamont added.
“Get it before Thanksgiving, before Christmas, before all those holidays, before we see what’s going on in Maine and Vermont and Rhode Island, New York, all around us, and we’ll be ready,” he said.
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COVID-19 vaccines are available for anyone 5 years old and up. Booster shots have been available for just some adults.
That could make the shots available as early as this weekend.
Some cities and states already allow all adults to get boosters of Pfizer's vaccine, but it is not yet official U.S. policy.
“If you’re a teacher, if you were vaccinated eight months ago, you’re still going into that classroom every day, now is the time to get your booster,” Lamont said.
Dr. Manisha Juthani, the commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Public Health, said it is likely that there will be additional guidance on who is eligible, but that COVID-19 is surging in states around Connecticut there is an uptick here.
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Who Can Get a COVID-19 Vaccine Booster?
According to the existing official policy, anyone 18 years old and up who received Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen COVID-19 vaccine is eligible for a booster if it has been at least two months since you received the one-shot vaccine.
People who received the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna two-shot vaccine have been eligible for a booster if they are received their vaccine series at least six months ago and fit into one of these categories:
- 65 years or older
- 18 or older and live in long-term care settings
- 18 or older and have underlying medical conditions
- 18 or older and work or live in high-risk settings
Lamont held a 10:30 a.m. news conference at Rockville General Hospital in Vernon with Juthani; Deborah Weymouth, CEO of the Eastern Connecticut Health Network; and other state and local officials.
