As of March 29, a second booster dose of either Pfizer or Moderna COVID vaccines is now recommended four months after the prior dose for:
* People who received Johnson & Johnson COVID Vaccine for both their primary series and booster doses.
* Adults ages 50 years and older.
* People ages 12 years and older who are moderately or severely immunocompromised.
“Getting more people who are 50 and older this additional booster dose will be a huge help in reducing hospitalization and death from the next COVID wave,” Dr. James Lawler, Infectious Disease Physician, Co-Executive Director, Global Center for Health Security.
COVID vaccine is widely available across the Panhandle for individuals age 5 and over, there are no out-of-pocket expenses. COVID vaccine for children six months to four years of age will be available in the coming weeks.
If you are homebound or have a condition that makes it hard for you to access a COVID vaccine, Call Vianey Zitterkopf, RN at 308-430-8390 or Janet Felix, LPN at 308-672-4653. If you have lost your COVID vaccine card, go to https://tinyurl.com/2zh7uhhu.
Free Tests Available
Free COVID test kits are available at community locations throughout the Panhandle. Find a location near you at https://tinyurl.com/4fkydcfe.
Residents can have as many as their family needs with a limit of six at one time at no charge. These are important to have on-hand so if you or a family member feels a minor COVID-like symptom, you can quickly test to make a decision about how to keep yourself and others that may be around you healthy and safe.
Once picked up, individuals can perform the test on their own or be helped through a video call. If done through the video call, you will receive a certified lab report that can be used for travel, medical procedures, and other documentation needs.
In addition to the local test kits available, Panhandle residents can also order four, free at-home COVID tests at COVIDtests.gov or by calling 1-800-232-0233. Orders will usually ship in 7-12 days. Current COVID testing access can also be found at http://pphd.org/COVID-19.html.
Panhandle COVID Dashboard Update
The Panhandle COVID dashboard is shifting to region-wide data on COVID trends around the area. It will no longer have county-specific data. This is due to the Governor’s emergency order expiring on March 31, which specifies what level of data can be publicly shared.
The Panhandle COVID dashboard is available at www.pphd.org. The state COVID dashboard is available at https://tinyurl.com/ufj9fcuf. For the most up to date information from the CDC, visit https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html.