Arizona’s top pandemic adviser recommends second booster shot for those eligible

PHOENIX — Arizona’s top pandemic adviser Dr. Richard Carmona recommends a second COVID-19 vaccination booster shot for those eligible, even with case numbers and transmission on the decline.

“There is certainly very strong information that your immunity starts to drop after several months [following vaccination],” Carmona told KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Arizona’s Morning News on Wednesday.

The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday authorized an extra dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine for those age 50 and older, as well as others at risk, if it’s been at least four months since their last shot.

“Four months is the timeline that we’re looking at and that would be people 50 years or older,” Carmona said. “Especially those that are immunocompromised that have diseases that they take medicine for that their immune system don’t work as well. Those are the folks that are at highest risk that we would want to get that second booster.”

Each county in Arizona has a low COVID-19 community level, as is the case across most of the country.

However, Carmona said a vaccine is still necessary in the defense against COVID-19 with the more infectious omicron subvariant BA.2 causing an uptick in new cases in some areas of the world.

“The BA.2 is still transmissible and can still cause problems,” he said. “It’s probably best that people still get vaccinated because it not only protects you, it protects your family and it stops the spread of the virus which continues to mutate.

“There’s a lot of reasons to get vaccinated and to be vigilant because we’re not out of this yet. Numbers are good, we’re getting better. It’s moving in the right direction, but this pandemic is far from over.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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