CVS and Walgreens said their pharmacies in Massachusetts and across the nation will begin administering booster doses of the COVID-19 vaccines to the newly expanded eligible population on Saturday. Federal health officials acted Friday to open booster shots to all adults. They also took the extra step of urging people 50 and older to seek a booster, aiming to ward off a winter surge as coronavirus cases rise even before millions of Americans travel for the holidays.Until now, Americans faced a confusing list of who was eligible for a booster that varied by age, their health and which kind of vaccine they got first. The Food and Drug Administration authorized changes to Pfizer and Moderna boosters to make it easier.The expansion makes tens of millions more Americans eligible for an extra dose of protection.Rhode Island-based CVS said Friday night that nearly 10,000 of its locations across the country will begin offering the booster doses on Saturday. Illinois-based Walgreens said it would also begin offering boosters at nearly 9,000 locations on Saturday. Both pharmacy companies are urging patients to schedule their booster shot appointments online. CVSWalgreensThe No. 1 priority for the U.S., and the world, still is to get more unvaccinated people their first doses. All three COVID-19 vaccines used in the U.S. continue to offer strong protection against severe illness, including hospitalization and death, without a booster.But protection against infection can wane with time, and the U.S. and many countries in Europe also are grappling with how widely to recommend boosters as they fight a winter wave of new cases. In the U.S., COVID-19 diagnoses have climbed steadily over the last three weeks, especially in states where colder weather already has driven people indoors.Teen boosters aren’t yet under discussion, and kid-sized doses of Pfizer’s vaccine are just now rolling out to children ages 5 to 11.The Associated Press contributed to this report.
CVS and Walgreens said their pharmacies in Massachusetts and across the nation will begin administering booster doses of the COVID-19 vaccines to the newly expanded eligible population on Saturday.
Federal health officials acted Friday to open booster shots to all adults. They also took the extra step of urging people 50 and older to seek a booster, aiming to ward off a winter surge as coronavirus cases rise even before millions of Americans travel for the holidays.
Until now, Americans faced a confusing list of who was eligible for a booster that varied by age, their health and which kind of vaccine they got first. The Food and Drug Administration authorized changes to Pfizer and Moderna boosters to make it easier.
The expansion makes tens of millions more Americans eligible for an extra dose of protection.
Rhode Island-based CVS said Friday night that nearly 10,000 of its locations across the country will begin offering the booster doses on Saturday. Illinois-based Walgreens said it would also begin offering boosters at nearly 9,000 locations on Saturday.
Both pharmacy companies are urging patients to schedule their booster shot appointments online.
The No. 1 priority for the U.S., and the world, still is to get more unvaccinated people their first doses. All three COVID-19 vaccines used in the U.S. continue to offer strong protection against severe illness, including hospitalization and death, without a booster.
But protection against infection can wane with time, and the U.S. and many countries in Europe also are grappling with how widely to recommend boosters as they fight a winter wave of new cases. In the U.S., COVID-19 diagnoses have climbed steadily over the last three weeks, especially in states where colder weather already has driven people indoors.
Teen boosters aren’t yet under discussion, and kid-sized doses of Pfizer’s vaccine are just now rolling out to children ages 5 to 11.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.