Regina Sung, Photo Editor

Many members of the Yale community — all those who live or work in a school setting — are now eligible for a COVID-19 booster, following updated guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

University COVID-19 Coordinator Stephanie Spangler wrote in a community-wide email Friday afternoon that the clarified guidelines have made many more Yale affiliates eligible for the booster than under previous guidance. The CDC’s website now distinguishes between individuals who “should” receive the vaccine and those who “may” — this latter category includes education staff and people who live or work in school or health care settings. Individuals aged 18 to 64 who live or work in high-risk settings are also eligible; this includes education staff and people who reside or work in health care or school settings, which Yale is. Eligible Yale affiliates may make a booster appointment through the Yale COVID-19 Vaccine Program or through Yale New Haven Health. 

“I’m planning on getting a booster shot to have as much protection as possible against the virus,” said Rosie Rothschild ’24, who originally took the two-dose series of Moderna’s vaccine in April. “I also hope to help prevent the spread of [COVID-19] to people in my community and those in vulnerable populations.”

Last week, Spangler wrote to the Yale community with information about the CDC’s approval of booster doses for all three vaccines currently authorized in the United States: Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson. This week, following updates to the CDC’s website, Spangler clarified in her message the distinction between those individuals who ought to receive a booster and those who are allowed to.

Spangler explained that, according to the updated guidance, individuals who received any of the three vaccines “should” get a booster if they are 65 or older, between 50 and 64 with underlying medical conditions or over the age of 18 and living in long-term care settings. Anybody over the age of 18 who initially took the J&J vaccine should receive a booster two months after their first shot. Individuals who are moderately to severely immunocompromised who received the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines should seek an additional full dose 28 days after their second dose in the series.

She added that the CDC’s website now clarifies that there are also some Americans who “may” choose to receive a booster shot six months after their initial Pfizer or Moderna series because of the “favorable effect it may have on their levels of immunity to COVID-19.” 

Those eligible include people between the ages of 18 and 49 with underlying medical conditions, as well as individuals aged 18 to 64 who live or work in high-risk settings; this includes education staff and people who reside or work in health care or school settings, Spangler wrote. 

Professor Nicholas Lotito — a lecturer in the Political Science and Global Affairs departments — told the News that he received his booster shot on Friday. He opted for a booster of the Pfizer vaccine, whose two-dose series he originally got this past spring. 

Lotito, who has been teaching in person this semester, said he got the booster to reduce the risk of transmitting the virus to his family, particularly his still-unvaccinated child. The Food and Drug Administration on Friday approved the Pfizer vaccine for children between the ages of five and 11.

“I doubt the boosters will be a game changer like the initial shots were, but they are offering some additional peace of mind along with our community’s high vaccination rate and low positivity rate at this time,” Lotito said.

Rothschild added that she hopes the expansion of booster eligibility will help Yale get “closer to pre-pandemic life.”

According to Howard Forman, professor of radiology and biomedical imaging, public health, management and economics, the boosters’ primary function right now is to protect individuals rather than the Yale community at large.

“That may change with time based on waning immunity in our community,” Forman said. “But we’re not seeing that right now.”

Spangler noted in her email that in addition to Yale-based resources, people can seek boosters throughout the state of Connecticut. 

The Yale COVID-19 Vaccine Program is located at 310 Winchester Ave.