Millions Of Californians Are Now Eligible For Another COVID-19 Vaccine Shot

CALIFORNIA — Millions more Californians became eligible for a coronavirus booster shot this week as the state nears the one-year anniversary of its worst COVID-19 surge last winter.

Although cases have fallen to a 1.9 percent positivity rate — among the lowest in the nation — public health officials pleaded with vulnerable residents to get a booster shot to avoid a repeat of 2020's deadly winter spike.

"If you’re eligible — get your booster," Gov. Gavin Newsom tweeted on Friday. "Protect yourself and loved ones this winter."

All people 65 and older, as well as residents 50 and older with underlying health conditions, became eligible for an additional dose on Friday. Those who received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine may also get a booster shot and will be able to receive any COVID-19 vaccine as a booster.

The additional shots are expected to become widely available to eligible residents in the Golden State this week.

"These decisions, as well as the authorization to allow for mixing and matching of COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers for boosters, will allow more Californians to increase and maintain the strongest protection against infection heading into the winter months," said Dr. Thomas Aragorn, the state's public health officer.

The ability to mix-and match different COVID-19 vaccines was also approved this week.

Preliminary results of a federal study found an extra dose of any vaccine offered a boost of virus-fighting antibodies regardless of which shots people got to begin with. For those who received J&J, the Moderna and Pfizer shots appeared to offer a stronger boost. But researchers cautioned the study was too small to say one combination was better than another.

The new eligibility is geared toward those who received the Johnson & Johnson or Moderna vaccines. The Pfizer vaccine was approved by the federal government and the Western States Scientific Workgroup last month.

In addition to approving more vaccines for vulnerable residents, the state also added the option for all adults to get a booster shot if they work in a high risk environment such as a hospital, school or even a restaurant or grocery story.

The following groups are now eligible for another shot in California.

• Adults 65 years and older.
• Adults 18 and older residing in a long-term care facility.
• Adults 50 to 64 with underlying medical conditions or at increased risk of social inequities.
• Adults 18 to 49 with underlying medical conditions or at increased risk of social inequities.
• Adults 18 or older who are at risk of COVID-19 exposure and transmission because of an occupational or institutional setting.
• Adults 18 or older who got a Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

Those who received the Moderna vaccine may get another shot six months after their second dose; Johnson & Johnson recipients may get another shot two months after an initial dose, according to Newsom's office.

In California, 86 percent of eligible residents have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine as cases continue to fall.

Pfizer was approved as a booster last month just as the highly transmissible delta variant swept the nation.

Still, while experts maintain that vaccinated Californians are still protected, they also say a booster shot will bolster immunity against powerful variants such as delta, which drove up cases over the summer.

It's important to note that Californians will still be considered fully vaccinated starting two weeks after a second dose of Pfizer or Moderna or after receiving a Johnson & Johnson vaccine. The definition of "fully vaccinated" will not change just yet, since eligibility has not opened to each U.S. resident, said Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The immunity granted by coronavirus vaccines was always expected to wane over time, but up until recently, it wasn't clear exactly when that would be.

"So what their data show is that your neutralizing antibody levels decay over time," Dr. Timothy Brewer previously told Patch. He's a professor of infectious disease at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles. "For the Pfizer vaccine, they decay about 6 percent every two months or so."

Experts maintained that the introduction of additional shots is not a testament to how well vaccinations work but rather a response to an unprecedented variant.

"The fact that we need a third jab, and the fact that we are still asked to wear masks indoors and be careful, is a testimony that we're facing a really formidable foe," Dr. John Swartzberg, a professor of vaccinology and infectious disease at the University of California, Berkeley, told Patch earlier.

Initially, booster shots were approved for Golden Staters who were immunocompromised. Vulnerable residents were advised to get a third shot 28 days after their last dose.

Studies have shown that the first two doses of Pfizer or Moderna are less effective for those with hampered immune systems, offering 59 to 72 percent effectiveness, compared to 90 to 94 percent effectiveness among those with strong immune systems, NPR reported.

READ MORE: 5 Things To Know About Coronavirus Booster Shots In CA

The Associated Press contributed to this report.