LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Booster shots against COVID-19 are rolling out in Arkansas for those who are eligible, and now there’s a possibility that younger children could soon start receiving the vaccine as well.
Statewide, there’s nearly a five-week supply of the COVID-19 vaccine, including Pfizer.
However, booster shot eligibility may have made the whole COVID vaccine thing a little more complicated.
THE QUESTION
As some large events in the state and across the country are only allowing participants to provide a recent negative COVID test or a card showing that they are fully vaccinated, the question arose on what the booster's role is in considering someone "fully vaccinated."
One viewer asked our THV11 VERIFY team, “If you have had the second shot of the vaccine, are you still considered vaccinated or will the booster shot be the shot to be considered vaccinated?”
THE SOURCES
Our sources are the Arkansas Department of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
THE ANSWER
A spokesperson with ADH tells us, “You are considered fully vaccinated when you have had one shot of J&J or two shots of Pfizer or Moderna."
The booster shot is just added protection for those who are already considered fully vaccinated.
WHAT WE FOUND
When we checked out the CDC website, they break it down even further, saying in general, two weeks after your second dose of Pfizer or Moderna vaccines or 2two weeks after the single-dose J&J vaccine, is when you are considered fully vaccinated.
On their website, the CDC also presents recent data they’ve collected that shows after getting vaccinated against COVID-19, protection against the virus may decrease over time and be less able to protect against the Delta variant.
A reminder: booster shots are only available for Pfizer vaccine recipients who completed their initial series at least 6 months ago.
We can verify, yes, you are considered fully vaccinated once you’ve had your two shots of Pfizer or Moderna, or one dose of the J&J vaccine.
If you have something you’d like verified, let us help. Email us at verify@thv11.com
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