(Washington, DC) – Today, DC Health, led by Dr. LaQuandra Nesbitt, is encouraging all eligible residents who are eligible to get a COVID-19 booster shot. The Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has updated its recommendation for when people can receive a booster shot, shortening the interval from 6 months to 5 months for people who receive the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. This means that people can now receive an mRNA booster shot 5 months after completing their Pfizer-BioNTech primary series. The booster interval recommendation for people who received the Johnson and Johnson vaccine (2 months) or the Moderna vaccine (6 months), has not changed.

Additionally, consistent with CDC’s recommendation for adults, CDC is recommending that moderately or severely immunocompromised 5–11-year-olds receive an additional primary dose of vaccine twenty-eight days after their second shot. Right now, only Pfizer is authorized and recommended for children aged 5–11.