COVID-19 booster shots being rolled out across Mecklenburg County; see where to get a shot

MECKLENBURG COUNTY, N.C. (FOX 46 CHARLOTTE) — Booster shots are being rolled out across the Charlotte area, starting this week.

Mecklenburg County Public Health offers booster shots of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine at Health Department clinic locations. Please bring your vaccine card with you. No documentation of eligibility is required.

Locations

Northwest Health Department, 2845 Beatties Ford Road
  Mon, Tue, Thur, Fri: 8:30am-4:30pm
  Wed: 8:30am-6:30pm
  Offering Pfizer or Johnson & Johnson

Southeast Health Department, 249 Billingsley Road
   Mon, Tue, Thur, Fri: 8:30am-4:30pm
   Wed: 8:30am-6:30pm
   Offering Pfizer or Johnson & Johnson
 Valerie C. Woodard Center – Community Resource Center, 3205 Freedom Drive
   Mon–Fri: 8:30am-11:30am, 1:30pm-4:30pm
   Offering Pfizer or Johnson & Johnson

VaxClinic Community Vaccine Clinics
  Wednesdays beginning October 6 at Covenant Presbyterian Church, 1000 East Morehead St, 3pm-7pm
  Scheduling encouraged but walk-ins welcome.

StarMed Healthcare-Tuckaseegee, 4001 Tuckaseegee Rd

StarMed Healthcare-Eastland, 5344 Central Ave

StarMed Healthcare-Bojangles Coliseum, 2700 East Independence Blvd
   Click here for StarMed’s walk-in hours or schedule online.

Novant Health Medical Group-Huntersville, 17220 Northcross Dr, Suite 110, Huntersville, NC
  Mondays: 10am-6pm, Wednesdays: 7am-3pm

Novant Health Medical Group-East Mecklenburg, 6070 East Independence Blvd, Charlotte, NC
  Tuesdays: 7am-3pm, Thursdays: 10am-6pm
  For more information on Novant vaccination locations, click here.

Other Charlotte area pharmacies and retailers are also offering booster shots. To look for places offering shots by zip code, please click here.

Boosters are currently available for adults at a high risk of COVID-19 complications who received the Pfizer vaccine at least six months ago. This includes people 65 and older, people with underlying health conditions and people who work in high-risk jobs like health care.

Boosters are available to these groups

People 65 years and older and residents in long-term care settings.
People aged 50 to 64 with certain underlying medical conditions.
People 18 to 49 who are at high risk for severe COVID-19 due to certain underlying medical conditions, based on their individual benefits and risks.
People aged 18-64 years who are at increased risk for COVID-19 exposure and transmission because of occupational or institutional setting, based on their individual benefits and risks.

This third shot is meant to “supercharge” antibody response.

Pfizer is the only shot that currently has a booster shot approved, but health officials say Moderna has submitted data to the FDA for its own booster shot and is awaiting approval.

Health officials say that people who received Moderna or Johnson & Johnson shots shouldn’t worry, as they still have “a high degree” of protection, and boosters will likely be approved for them later.

The CDC has released the following list of jobs considered “high risk” to clarify who qualifies for a booster:

First responders (healthcare workers, firefighters, police, congregate care staff) 
Education staff (teachers, support staff, daycare workers) 
Food and agriculture workers 
Manufacturing workers 
Corrections workers 
U.S. Postal Service workers 
Public transit workers 
Grocery store workers