By CAMILA FERNANDEZ
WISH-TV | wishtv.com
More and more people are getting a fourth dose of COVID-19 vaccine in Indiana. On Friday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released new guidelines for people with weakened immune systems.
People who are immunocompromised, such as those who have cancer or an HIV infection, are the most vulnerable right now. So, the CDC is now recommending that they receive a fourth shot of Moderna or Pfizer at least three months after their third shot.
“When I read the CDC guidelines that stated I should wait five months from a previous dose, I got online and I scheduled my appointment,” said Bryan Headrick, a Noblesville resident.
On Monday, Headrick stopped by the vaccine clinic at the Hamilton County 4-H Fairgrounds for his fourth COVID-19 shot.
“I have leukemia and I was diagnosed eight years ago,” Headrick said.
That means he’s immunocompromised. Headrick has already tested positive two times.
“For me, because I am immunocompromised, I felt that it was very important to have that fourth dose,” Headrick said. “The CDC guidelines say that my initial battery of doses would be three, so this finally is my booster.”
“The fourth shot will be their booster versus people who aren’t immunocompromised. It’s a two-shot series followed six months later by a third-shot booster,” Vice President of Medical Affairs at Franciscan Health, Dr. Christopher Doehring, said.
WISH-TV News 8 asked the Hamilton County Health Department how many people have gotten a fourth shot at the fairgrounds, but they say it’s not something they track.
Headrick says that for him, the vaccines are necessary.
“I just want to stay safe from COVID and I am anticipating that it will be an annual shot,” Headrick said.
Doehring says the less robust your immune system, the harder it’ll be to fight the disease.
“It’s really an approach to try to preserve as optimal of immunoprotection as you can possibly have under the limitations of being immunocompromised,” Doehring said.
For anybody who got the one-shot Johnson and Johnson vaccine, Doehring says it’s recommended they get a booster shot at least two months later.