COVID-19 vaccine: A message from Dr. David Morris, DAP Health Chief Medical Officer
Early in the coronavirus pandemic, DAP Health prioritized our immunocompromised and older patients to ensure they received COVID-19 vaccination in line with recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The CDC has updated its clinical COVID-19 vaccination guidance to recommend that people who are moderately to severely immunocompromised -- including people with advanced or untreated HIV -- who received either the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines receive an additional (third) dose.
Many experts consider people with HIV (PWH) whose CD4 cell count is <200/mm3 or CD4 percentage is 14 or less to have advanced disease.
Today, the majority of our PWH are healthy and thriving because of the comprehensive care they receive, which includes access to life-saving medication that suppresses the HIV viral load.
PWH should discuss their concerns or questions about a COVID-19 third shot with their clinicians. There may be compelling reasons beyond CD4 cell count that may warrant an additional (third) dose.
For patients who are not immunocompromised, DAP Health continues to monitor the evolving CDC guidelines for booster shots and will be ready to provide these as recommended by CDC. Until then, we do not believe there are any health benefits to getting the booster shot early.
This Fall, the third vaccine shot (booster) will be recommended to those without impaired immunity who received either the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines if they are authorized by FDA and recommended by CDC. The FDA and CDC are evaluating Johnson & Johnson’s vaccines, but they have not made any recommendations at this time.
If you have questions about your care, please reach out to your clinician on MyChart. If you have questions pertaining to the vaccine booster or Delta variant, please call our COVID Clinic at (760) 992-0407.
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