In the meantime, based on previous action by the FDA, you can also get an off-label prescription for a booster from a physician.
I thought the booster only received EUA approval, not full approval? I thought the off-label concept doesnât apply to EUA?
It does. My hospital just sent out an email summarizing the findings and while disappointed, suggested the line I just posted about getting the booster as an off-label prescription from your physician.
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Your hospital is recommending boosters w/o CDC approval? Are they making that a condition of employment?
Friendâs daughter works for a hospital system in HoustonâŠthey are boosting all employees regardless of initial vaccine brand, and including those who arenât patient facing (like my friendâs D).
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The hospital in CT that my sister works at is also boosting all employees. My sister works in a patient facing admin position. She is scheduled to get her booster in early October when she gets her flu shot.
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No, not making it a condition of employment, though the initial vaccine itself is mandated. Several healthcare workers received boosters on their own over a month ago, and continue still. I donât ask how they got them, though I assume itâs what people on this thread have been suggesting: lying about an underlying condition. Other people have been waiting for the official approval from the CDC. With where we stand today, no one is going to promote lying at a pharmacy, but they can suggest getting an off-label prescription from your physician. Writing off-label prescriptions is not uncommon, maybe a quarter of all prescriptions are actually for off-label use (ivermectin is being touted for its off-label use to treat COVID by some). Itâs up to oneâs personal physician. You can always ask, they can always say no, but itâs a way for people who want to be honest to try to get the booster now.
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Is it required as a condition of employment? ETA same question to @me29034
If itâs not approved by the CDC, it canât be mandated. Once it receives approval, then I am pretty sure it will be.
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Ok and they arenât themselves lying about vaccine distribution. But arenât those other systems that are boosting w/o authorization potentially violating federal rules regarding distribution?
I have no idea if it is required but my sister is eager to get it.
I donât know who these hospitals are, but maybe they are willing to give boosters based on the FDA EUA and donât care about the CDCâs Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommendation.
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it might be more than a recommendation. I understand that there are federal supply agreements in place, and vaccinators who go rogue and donât follow the panelâs advice may expose themselves to liability and compromise their ability to receive additional inventory, reimbursements, etc. âFederal officials have warned providers against violating the agreements, which could jeopardize their access to the shots, liability protections, and reimbursements.â CDC advisers recommend who can get booster shots of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine - CBS News
Clearly some states and cities have done their own thing anyway, per the article. That might be the loophole.
Hence the popularity of âdonât ask, donât tellâ. Allows the pharmacy plausible deniability and keeps the customer happy.
They do ask. Right now the person requesting the appointment has to attest that they are immunocompromised.
Not everywhere. That is the point
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I just checked the three largest pharmacy chains - Walgreens, CVS and Wal-Mart -and all of them ask the patient to specify that they are immunocompromised. So which pharmacies are you referring to?
It depends on which state you are in. Colorado stopped asking when they opened vaccinations up to everyone (mid April?) Some pharmacies might still ask, but there are plenty of places you can go to that do not ask anything other than your name and if you are getting 1st, 2nd or now booster. We donât have to show anything at a state site, not insurance card or ID.
My mother got a booster in August when they first started talking about them. Sheâd received her first shot in Jan, second in Feb, so it was âtime.â A lot of people were reporting that theyâd received J&J and wanted a booster and it was no problem to get one (usually a Pfizer or Moderna)
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Boosters for the immunocompromised are recommended beginning 30 days out from last shot so your mother was totally within the appropriate time frame (eta assuming she is immunocompromised). I guess the state doesnât need to worry about liability but private pharmacies might; hence the attestation if booking an appt. with the latter (the ones I mentioned have online appointment capabilities but maybe there are fewer questions from those that do drop-in). States also have more bargaining power with the federal govât. Itâs easy to see how political this issue is, though, isnât it? If political leaders are allowing boosters w/o CDC approval then they are putting constituent preference ahead of the science.
But even in the first rounds states got to decide who was most important and it was ALL political. Groups with unions (teachers, some medical people) got moved up when they complained. Here, teachers, even those working remotely, were rescheduled to move in front of grocery and restaurants. Some states let those who were younger with certain conditions to go earlier than older people.
There isnât any waiting here at all. Anyone who wants a shot or a booster can get one. I got moderna and was going to get a booster on Oct 4 but now Iâm reading that moderna is holding strong, so I think I will wait a few month so that when I get a booster it gets me through the winter.
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