Beaufort Memorial to provide 3rd vaccination dose. Who is eligible and when?
Beaufort Memorial Hospital plans to expand the hours of its Port Royal vaccine clinic next week to provide third doses of a COVID-19 vaccine to people with compromised immune systems.
Beginning next Thursday, Sept. 2, third doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine will be offered by appointment at Port Royal Vaccine Clinic, 1680 Ribaut Road.
The S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control reported 3,121 new COVID-19 cases and nine coronavirus-related deaths on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, Beaufort Memorial Hospital reported 46 COVID-positive patients in the hospital, seven of whom are in the intensive care unit. Five of those ICU patients are on ventilators.
Patients who qualify for the third Pifzer-BioNTech shot can schedule an appointment by visiting www.BeaufortMemorial.org/VaxPR, or by emailing vaccineappointment@bmhsc.org. The online appointments will not go live until Thursday, Aug. 26. A physician’s order is not required and the vaccine is free.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a third dose of vaccine should be considered for people with moderate to severe immune compromise due to medical conditions, medications or treatments, including those who:
- Are undergoing cancer treatment for tumors or cancers of the blood.
- Are taking medicine to suppress the immune system following an organ transplant.
- Have received a stem cell transplant within the last 2 years.
- Have moderate or severe primary immunodeficiency such as DiGeorge syndrome or Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome.
- Have advanced or untreated HIV infection.
- Are receiving active treatment with high-dose corticosteroids or other drugs that may suppress their immune response.
The clinic will expand from one to two days a week to accommodate third doses for immunocompromised patents while also continuing to offer first and second doses to residents. Beginning the week of Aug. 30, the clinic will be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays. The third doses of Pfizer-BioNTech will begin Thursday, Sept. 2.
In addition, the CDC advises that the third Moderna vaccine dose for people with compromised immune systems be the same vaccine product as the initial two doses and should be administered at least 28 days after the two-dose series.
Patients who received the single-dose Janssen (Johnson & Johnson) vaccine do not qualify to receive a booster at this time.
For more information including frequently asked questions, visit www.cdc.gov/coronavirus. To learn more about COVID-19 testing, vaccine clinics and safe care measures offered by Beaufort Memorial, visit www.beaufortmemorial.org.
This story was originally published August 25, 2021 at 2:35 PM.
