Long Beach is offering more clinics for eligible people to get booster shots of the two-dose Pfizer and Moderna vaccines and the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
In addition to its normal clinics offered six days a week at the city’s vaccine sites, Long Beach is adding three drive-thru clinics at the Health Department’s office at 2525 Grand Ave. Each clinic will run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Nov. 5, Nov. 12 and Nov. 19.
Appointments are strongly encouraged, according to health officials. To make an appointment click here or call 562-570-4636.
For the Moderna and Pfizer booster, eligible people include those 65 and older, those 18 to 64 years old with underlying medical conditions, and those ages 18 and older with high institutional or occupational risk. Those with high risks include healthcare workers, longterm care facility residents, first responders, teachers and daycare staff, grocery workers and workers in homeless shelters or prisons.
Johnson & Johnson booster shots will be available for everyone 18 and older.
For more information on booster shots and available clinics click here.
Vaccines for kids 5 through 11
Long Beach has begun pre-ordering vaccines for kids 5-11 and plans to begin offering them as soon as they get final approvals and guidelines from federal officials, according to a statement from the city.
The Federal Drug Administration granted emergency-use authorization on Friday to vaccinate children 5-11, but one more step is still pending. A panel of doctors and health experts with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will review the FDA’s emergency use approval of the vaccine for the young age group next week as is standard protocol. Following that meeting, currently scheduled for Nov. 2 and 3, the panel will make recommendations on how to administer the vaccine to the director of the CDC.
The Long Beach Health and Human Services Department said it is waiting for the CDC panel to provide that guidance before they offer the vaccine to those 5 through 11. At that point, the city will provide information on where and when kids that age can get shots.
“The process has allowed the City to pre-order vaccines in anticipation of approvals and is expected to have limited supply initially once the vaccine is fully authorized,” a statement from Long Beach said. “As more pediatric doses are manufactured, the supply is expected to increase.”
The Pfizer dose that is expected to be given to children in that age group is a lower dose than that offered to children who are 12 and older.
How to get a COVID-19 booster shot in Long Beach, and who qualifies