COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — A couple in Colorado Springs were worried their Moderna boosters may not fully be protecting them and reached out to FOX21 News to get some clarification. Their issue was the dosage amount was different for each of them.
The El Paso County Health Department said when it comes to the Moderna booster, if you are immune-compromised you will get a larger dose than if you are not immune-compromised.
Those who are 65 years and older can now get the booster six months or more after their initial series to keep the vaccine effective longer. Also, those who are 18 years and older can as well if they live in long-term care settings, have underlying medical conditions, and or work and live in high-risk settings like a teacher or healthcare worker.
“After she got her shot we looked at the receipt and it said that she got .25 and she was curious about that,” Per-Magnus Persson said. “She asked if she could get a full dose or whatever she was supposed to get but the pharmacist said this is what we’ve been told to give by corporate.”
Per-Magnus and his wife Rochelle were confused about their third dosage of the Moderna vaccine, concerned they didn’t receive the correct amount. They were unsettled they might not be fully protected.
“If you are immune-compromised you will get a full .5 third dose if you are not immune-compromised and it’s been longer than six months then you will get the .25 that half dose for your third dose,” Immunization Program Manager for El Paso County Health Kristi Durbin said.
El Paso County Health said it’s only Moderna booster where a person will get a different dose amount than someone who is immune-compromised. The Pfizer and J&J vaccine boosters will be the full dose no matter if you are immune-compromised or not.
“It has to do with the immune response that you have to Moderna so the data is showing that you don’t need the full dose for that third dose if you are not immune-compromised,” Durbin added.
At first, the Persson’s were wondering if they might need to go get another booster so they want this to serve as a public service announcement for all.
“It would be a concern to everyone, especially since nobody was informed of this, we just found out on our own and we weren’t told anything,” Persson said.
If you need to find a provider for any dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, you can by looking at the elpasocountyhealth.org website.
