BPHC Bulletin: CDC Guidance on Additional COVID-19 Vaccine for Moderately to Severely Immunocompromised People

bphc health center program bulletin

Last week, CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommended that people whose immune systems are moderately to severely compromised receive an additional dose of mRNA COVID-19 vaccine at least four weeks after an initial two-dose mRNA series. See their statement.

ACIP’s recommendation follows FDA’s decision to amend Pfizer-BioNTech’s and Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine Emergency Use Authorizations (EUAs) in support of this allowance.

The FDA’s recent EUA amendment only applies to mRNA COVID-19 vaccines (i.e., Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna), as does CDC’s recommendation. According to the CDC, there is not enough data at this time to determine whether immunocompromised people who received Janssen (Johnson & Johnson) COVID-19 vaccine also have an improved antibody response following an additional dose of the same vaccine.

These resources can help your providers and your patients understand what this means:

Health Center COVID-19 Survey
As soon as possible, we’ll share additional guidance on how this will impact data reporting through the Health Center COVID-19 Survey, including the addendum for Health Center COVID-19 Vaccine Program participants. Please look out for further information in a future BPHC Bulletin and in the Primary Health Care Digest.