DCH To Begin Offering 3rd COVID-19 Pfizer Booster Friday

TUSCALOOSA, AL — DCH Health System saw a second-straight day where its overall inpatient total fell from the previous day. However, the three-hospital system added 17 new hospitalizations Wednesday, in addition to 31 patients being treated in its ICU.

By the end of the week, DCH will likely top a cumulative total of 12,000 positive coronavirus cases identified by the hospital system since the beginning of the pandemic.

As cases continue to rise and health officials try to convince a skeptical public to receive the vaccine, DCH Health System said the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has amended its Emergency Use Authorization for Pfizer and Moderna to allow for a third dose or booster of their COVID-19 vaccines for certain immunocompromised individuals.

DCH says it will begin offering third doses this Friday and will continue doing so at its remote site in the parking lot just west of DCH Regional Medical Center.

Click here to register for the third shot or to schedule your first vaccination.

At present, DCH Health System only offers the Pfizer vaccine, and the booster can only be given 28 days or more after the second dose, or 90 days or more since receiving convalescent plasma or monoclonal therapy.

DCH says those who received a Moderna vaccination will need to go to a clinic that administers the Moderna vaccine to receive a booster.

"Individuals who feel they qualify and would like a third dose must present proof of a previous vaccination by bringing their vaccination card and signing a self-attestation that they qualify," DCH said in a statement. "For the initial vaccine doses or the booster, employees can visit the Oak Room at DCH Regional Medical Center on Tuesdays and Fridays from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. No appointment is necessary."

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The news comes as Dr. Don Williamson of the Alabama Hospital Association told media on Wednesday that 1,568 patients needed ICU beds statewide, while Alabama's hospitals have only 1,557 ICU beds available.

"They may spend more time in the ER than they normally would," he said. "They may spend hours. On the other hand they may end up being taken care of in a hallway on a gurney as opposed to an ICU bed."

What's more, this week will see the University of Alabama returns to in-person instruction on the Tuscaloosa campus. On Tuesday, the UA System reported 10,307 doses of the coronavirus vaccine have been administered at the University of Alabama, with 72.4% of employees receiving at least one dose of the vaccine.

For the week of Aug. 9-15, a total of 56 students and 26 employees on UA's Tuscaloosa campus tested positive for the coronavirus.

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