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All vaccinated adults in Massachusetts can now get a booster

UMass Medical School student Timothy Winn prepares doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine at the Hotel Grace homeless shelter in Worcester.
Jesse Costa
/
WBUR
In this file photo, UMass Medical School student Timothy Winn prepares doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine at the Hotel Grace homeless shelter in Worcester.

All Massachusetts adults ages 18 and older are now eligible to receive COVID-19 booster shots, provided enough time has passed since their initial vaccine doses, the Baker administration announced Thursday.

Previously, in keeping with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance, eligibility for Pfizer and Moderna boosters was limited to individuals ages 65 and older and younger adults who face increased risks from COVID-19 because of underlying medical conditions or because they work or live in higher-risk environments, and adults who got the Johnson & Johnson single-dose vaccine. As federal regulators weigh eligibility expansions, some states, including Maine and Vermont, have already opened up eligibility across their adult populations.

"With Maine and other New England states confronting a sustained surge, and with cold weather sending people indoors, we want to simplify the Federal government's complicated eligibility guidelines and make getting a booster shot as straightforward and easy as possible," Maine Gov. Janet Mills said Wednesday.

The Baker administration said it "encourages COVID-19 boosters for all fully vaccinated individuals 18+."

Adults can get a booster dose from any of the three manufacturers six months after their second Moderna or Pfizer dose or two months after receiving the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. The state's Vaxfinder site provides a list of booster locations and those unable to use the website can call 2-1-1 for assistance.

Booster doses are available at more than 1,000 locations in the state, according to the Executive Office of Health and Human Services.

Massachusetts on Wednesday reported 2,650 new, confirmed COVID-19 cases, and Department of Public Health data show a total 4,816,593 people in the state fully vaccinated. 

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