Ventura County now administering Pfizer booster shots to high-risk residents

VENTURA COUNTY, Calif. - Eligible residents can begin receiving their Pfizer COVID-19 booster shots at almost 200 locations across Ventura County.

This comes after the Centers for Disease Control and the California Department of Public Health endorsed Pfizer booster doses for the highest risk populations.

The Ventura County Public Health Department said these booster vaccines are recommended six months or later following the first series of Pfizer shots that eligible individuals obtained.

Public health said people who should receive a booster shot are:

• Age 65 years and older;
• Long term care residents; and
• Age 50 through 64 years with underlying medical conditions or at increased risk of social inequities (including communities of color and others at risk of inequities).

People who may receive a booster shot based on their individual health risks include those:

• Age 18 through 49 years with underlying medical conditions; and
• Age 18 through 64 who are at increased risk of exposure to COVID-19 due to their occupation or institutional setting including healthcare workers, first responders, teachers and day care staff, grocery workers, farmworkers and workers in homeless shelters or prisons.

At this time, residents who received the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines will need to wait until the FDA and CDC determined the need for and safety of boosters for their vaccines.

According to Ventura County Public Health Director Rigoberto Vargas, while eligible residents are encouraged to get their booster, “the focus remains on vaccinating those at greatest risk for getting infected, being hospitalized and dying from COVID: those that have not been fully vaccinated.”

Eligible residents who completed their two-dose Pfizer vaccine series at least six months ago can make an appointment for their boosters by visiting MyTurn.ca.gov or by calling 833-422-4255.

Community members also encouraged to contact their medical provider, make an appointment at a pharmacy or clinic that offers Pfizer vaccinations, or find a Public Health clinic at www.vcrecovers.org.

The Ventura County Area Agency on Aging provides no cost transportation to vaccination sites for those in need of support and in-home vaccination for homebound individuals. Services can be requested by calling 805-477-7300.