Third COVID Dose In Montco: You Qualify With These Conditions

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, PA — The distribution of the the third shot of the coronavirus vaccine continues in Montgomery County and around the country for certain qualifying immunocompromised individuals.

The county is giving out these immunizations, which health officials say could help those most at risk from the disease gain a little more protection from the delta variant, at their existing vaccination clinics. "Studies (from the CDC) indicate some immunocompromised people don’t always build the same level of immunity after vaccination the way non-immunocompromised people do," according to the county Office of Public Health.

Currently, third shots are only being given for the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. The single dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine has not been approved for additional shots. Further, only immunocompromised individuals can receive third shots.

Qualifying conditions considered "moderate to severe" include the following:

• Active treatment for any cancer (not history) including chemotherapy, radiation therapy, or surgery within two years.
• Receipt of solid-organ transplant and currently taking immunosuppressive therapy
• Receipt of CAR-T-cell or hematopoietic stem cell transplant (within two years of transplantation or taking immunosuppression therapy)
• Moderate or severe primary immunodeficiency (e.g., DiGeorge syndrome, Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome)
• Advanced or untreated HIV infection
• Active treatment with high-dose corticosteroids (i.e., ≥20mg prednisone or equivalent per day), alkylating agents, antimetabolites, transplant-related immunosuppressive drugs, cancer chemotherapeutic agents classified as severely immunosuppressive, tumor-necrosis (TNF) blockers, and other biologic agents that are immunosuppressive or immunomodulatory.
  • Steroids – daily or regular doses of prednisone, prednisolone, decadron. (Not single injection)
  • Alkylating agents and antimetabolites used for chemotherapy medications
  • TNF blockers – most common are Humira, Enbrel, Remicade, Simponi – the generic names end with either -ercept or – iximab. Used for rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, ulcerative colitis/Crohn’s disease, ankylosing spondylitis.

For more on getting the third shot in Montgomery County, see here.