KDHE Encourages Eligible Kansans to Receive Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine Booster Shot

TOPEKA – Today, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment has authorized all COVID-19 vaccine providers in Kansas to begin administering the Pfizer-BioNTech booster shot to eligible Kansans following the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) authorization this morning.

“We have over 2,000 COVID-19 vaccine providers across the state who are ready to provide the booster dose to eligible Kansans,” said Lee Norman, M.D., Secretary of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. “This booster dose will help protect Kansans who are more vulnerable for severe infection and hospitalization due to their position of working on the front lines, age or an underlying medical condition. It will take all of us doing our part by getting the vaccine to end this pandemic.”

The vaccine booster dose only applies to individuals who completed the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine series at least 6 months ago. Proof of previous COVID-19 vaccination is not required. The authorization does not allow for providing a booster dose to anyone who has previously been vaccinated with the Moderna or Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine. Eligibility for a booster dose based on an underlying medical condition will only require self-attestation – a prescription or assessment from a health care provider is not required.

Eligible Populations

• People aged 65 years and older, regardless of a medical condition, should receive a Pfizer booster shot
• Residents in long-term care settings should receive a Pfizer booster shot
• People aged 50–64 years with underlying medical conditions should receive a Pfizer booster shot
• People aged 18–49 years with underlying medical conditions may receive a Pfizer booster shot
• People aged 18-64 years who are at increased risk for COVID-19 exposure and transmission because of occupational or institutional setting may receive a Pfizer booster shot, based on their individual benefits and risks. (Occupational or institutional settings are not specifically defined in the CDC recommendation, however, it is intended to include health workers, teachers, grocery store, workers, congregant settings, etc.)

The COVID-19 vaccine is the most direct path to ending this pandemic. Kansans who qualify for the Pfizer-BioNTech booster dose, please find a COVID-19 vaccine clinic visit Vaccines.gov.