Many local residents face decision on COVID booster shot

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - If you’re 65 or older and fully vaccinated with the Pfizer vaccine, the FDA says you’re now able to get a booster shot.

In Richmond County alone, there are more than 15,000 people in that age group who are fully vaccinated and might be in the market for a booster. We went to local doctors to find out what you need to know when making your own decision about a third dose.

For some peoplem they’re ready to add a boost to their immune system.

“I’m gonna get it as soon as it’s available easily to get, but I am going to get the booster,” said Darvin Grimes.

“We’ll probably go together like we did before,” said Nila Grimes.

Nila Grimes says she had a breakthrough case and according to the CDC they can happen. A CDC study found vaccine effectiveness in preventing cases in adults declined from about 92 percent to 75 percent.

“I didn’t have a really bad case, but I did have it,” she said.

Though, thankfully, the same study found effectiveness against hospitalization remained about the same.

“And there are some data that in certain groups, the level of antibodies is declining. There is no evidence that I’m aware of, that we’re having more new severe cases in that group,” said Dr. Rodger MacArthur, infectious disease professor at the Medical College of Georgia.

There are questions if tweaking the current vaccines to fight new variants might be a better option.

“Would it be a better approach, for instance, to wait for Pfizer to come out with another vaccine, same technology, but more targeted towards the delta variant,” he said.

That’s because it doesn’t look like that variants going anywhere soon.

Augusta University Health will be offering Pfizer booster shots to those who are eligible at its Washington Square Clinic. It will be Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Appointments are available at https://www.augustahealth.org/vaccine.

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