Upper Moreland Township: Third Dose For Immunocompromised Individuals

Press release from the Upper Moreland Township:

August 20, 2021

The Montgomery County Office of Public Health (OPH) today announced that it will accept appointments for a third dose of the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines for immunocompromised individuals starting Monday, August 23, 2021. Online registration is now available at www.montcopa.org/COVID-19Vaccine.CDC recommends that people with moderately to severely compromised immune systems receive an additional dose of mRNA COVID-19 vaccine at least 28 days after a second dose of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine. CDC does not recommend additional doses or booster shots for any other population at this time.People who are moderately to severely immunocompromised are especially vulnerable to COVID-19 because they are more at risk of serious, prolonged illness. Studies indicate some immunocompromised people don’t always build the same level of immunity after vaccination the way non-immunocompromised people do.Anyone with the following conditions is eligible for a third dose of Pfizer or Moderna:

• 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.

Montgomery County COVID-19 Vaccination Clinics

• Bethel Community Church of Pottstown, 575 North Keim Street, Pottstown, PA 19464, Open Tuesdays and Thursdays from 2 – 6:30 p.m.
• Human Services Center, (First Floor, Innovation Room), 1430 DeKalb Street, Norristown, PA 19401, Open Tuesdays and Thursdays from 2 – 6:30 p.m.
• Willow Grove Parkside Shopping Center, (former Petco), 2522 West Moreland Road, Willow Grove, PA 19090, Open Mondays and Wednesdays from 2 – 6:30 p.m.

This press release was produced by the Upper Moreland Township. The views expressed here are the author’s own.