Phoenix readies to dole out 3rd COVID-19 vaccine doses

Phoenix is getting ready for round three in the battle against COVID-19.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Wednesday that booster shots of Pfizer and Moderna vaccines will be recommended for everyone starting as early as Sept. 20, at least eight months after a patient has received their second dose; Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose vaccine is not yet included as more data becomes available.

The announcement came on the heels of a similar announcement on Friday rolling out booster shots for the immunocompromised 28 days following their second dose, as the highly transmissible Delta variant continues to wreak havoc on the health care system in Arizona and across the U.S. The CDC released three new studies that showed each vaccine’s waning protection against the variant. One, from Mayo Clinic patient data from Minnesota, showed in July, when Delta was prevalent, Moderna’s vaccine was 76% effective against infection and Pfizer’s was 42%.