Want Your 4th COVID-19 Vaccine Shot? Here's What You'll Need: CDC

CONNECTICUT — Just as you were debating whether or not you would be rolling up your sleeve to get a coronavirus vaccine booster shot, health officials have announced a fourth jab.

New guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention state that people over 18 who are "moderately to severely immunocompromised" and have received three doses of an mRNA vaccine may get a fourth shot (of either the Pfizer, Moderna, or Johnson & Johnson vaccines) at least six months after getting their third Pfizer or Moderna dose.

Who qualifies as "immunocompromised" in CDC-speak? The list is long, and includes those with cancer, cerebrovascular disease, chronic kidney disease, a history of smoking, numerous chronic lung and liver diseases, asthma, depression, diabetes, and many other conditions. The pregnant and obese also qualify.

If you are immunocompromised, and have already received your third shot, you should be aware that it was a full dose of the vaccine. This fourth shot will only be half the volume of your first three, a true "booster."

For those jab-happy residents who have already gotten a booster, and are not immunocompromised, there is no word yet when or if you will be eligible for your fourth shot.

For those residents between 5 and 11-years-old, all signs point to it being very easy to get your first shot of the vaccine, very soon.

On Tuesday afternoon, the Food and Drug Administration's independent advisory group recommended that the Pfizer-BioNTech application for Emergency Use Authorization for its COVID-19 vaccine for children aged 5 through 11 be approved.

On Wednesday, Gov. Ned Lamont told a reporter from Fox61 News he has placed an initial order for nearly 150,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine, intended for the for kids' tier. The governor said that children can only get vaccinated with the permission of a parent, and there are no plans for a children's vaccine mandate.

The Connecticut Department of Public Heath is reporting 337 new cases of the coronavirus Tuesday. With 20,754 tests taken, Connecticut's daily COVID-19 positivity rate is 1.62 percent, a climb of little over half a percentage point from Tuesday.

Hospitalizations dropped 8 beds overnight, bringing the total below 200 for the first time since Aug. 6. As of Wednesday, there are 194 people being treated for the virus inside Connecticut hospitals.

Most of those hospitalized (65) are in New Haven County.

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