What’s the best booster to get? And other questions about Covid-19 boosters

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has weighed in with the latest word on booster vaccines and drugstores have already started advertising their supply.

Any of the three authorized vaccines in the US — Pfizer/BioNTech’s, Moderna’s or the Johnson & Johnson Janssen vaccine — may be used for a booster dose for eligible people.

There are not any booster police, but the CDC and the US Food and Drug Administration have set some eligibility requirements around who should be seeking booster shots.

People who got a Pfizer or Moderna series of two shots six months ago or longer may consider getting a booster if they are also:

• 65 or older.

• At risk of severe Covid-19 from a breakthrough infection because of a medical condition such as diabetes, kidney disease or pregnancy.

• At risk because of living conditions or work, so people who work in healthcare, frontline healthcare workers, people living in shelters or incarcerated people.

Moderna’s vaccine is given as a half dose for boosters; Pfizer’s is given as a full dose.

Anyone who got a Johnson & Johnson shot two months ago or longer is eligible two months after getting the first shot. That’s because the vaccine doesn’t provide as much protection as the other two do, and studies show a booster brings protection up to levels of more than 90%.

Federal health officials made a point of urging pregnant women to get a booster.

There’s no reason to wait if you are eligible. The booster can be administered along with other shots, such as flu shots or shingles, pneumococcal or other vaccines.

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