WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) – New Hanover County Public Health will begin offering booster vaccine shots of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine to eligible individuals starting Wednesday, Sept. 29.
The booster shots will be administered by appointment only.
“The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Centers for Disease Control (CDC) have authorized and recommended booster vaccine shots to provide continued protection for those at high risk for serious illness or exposure and who have been fully vaccinated with the Pfizer (Comirnaty) vaccine for six months or more,” New Hanover County stated in a news release. “The booster dose is free and is the same product given in the first two doses.”
The following people currently are eligible:
- 65 years or older,
- 18 years or older who live in long-term care or other high-risk settings where many people live together (i.e., homeless shelters, correctional facilities, or dormitories),
- 18 years or older with underlying medical conditions, or
- 18 years or older and work in high-risk settings like healthcare workers, first responders, teachers and childcare providers, or food workers.
New Hanover County released the following information on how to schedule a booster shot:
Appointments can be made at takemyshot.nc.gov (the website is available in English and Spanish):
- Follow the prompts and select that you are getting an additional dose/booster, then enter your New Hanover County zip code and it will pull up the available Public Health clinic locations and times for boosters.
- Choose your appointment location and time, enter your contact information, and then you will receive a confirmation via text, email or both once the appointment has been made.
- Ahead of your appointment, make sure you bring a copy or photo of your vaccine card or know the dates of your Pfizer vaccinations (if you do not remember and have lost your card, Public Health can look up your vaccination record in the state vaccination system; however, if you were vaccinated outside of North Carolina, you will need to provide a record from your vaccination site.)
Individuals do not need to return to the same location where they received their initial vaccines for a booster shot. Additional vaccine locations can be found here.
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