FRANKFORT, Ky. (LEX 18) — On the same day that President Joe Biden and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell received their booster shots to protect themselves against COVID-19, Governor Andy Beshear set aside some time during his briefing Monday to address federal regulators' latest guidance.
"What I want to do is make sure we clear up any confusion that's out there and let you know who can get the boosters," Beshear said.
Beshear said that in adherence with the latest guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, his administration recommends that at-risk groups of people who received both shots of the Pfizer vaccine get a booster six months after their second shot.
Those people eligible to receive a booster shot, based on the federal guidance, includes:
- People 65 and older
- Those living in long-term care facilities
- People 18 to 64 who have a medical condition that increases their risk of severe COVID-19 infection
- People 18 to 64 who are deemed likely to get exposed to COVID-19 at their job (i.e. education, health care, corrections)
Rochelle Walensky, the director of the CDC, went further than the agency's advisory panel recommendations last week when she decided that people can receive a booster shot due to their potential exposure at work.
The governor also clarified that people who are immunocompromised are advised to get a third shot of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine at least 28 days after their second shot. Beshear said this would apply to people who are undergoing cancer treatment or who are taking a high dose of an immunosuppressant.
