The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has updated its guidance on who can get a COVID-19 booster shot. Now, there are some people in the US who are eligible to receive four doses of the COVID vaccine as soon as next year.
On October 25, the CDC added to its COVID vaccination guidance to say that adults who are moderately or severely immunocompromised who've received two doses of an mRNA vaccine (either Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech) and a third additional shot can also receive a booster shot. "In such situations, people who are moderately and severely immunocompromised may receive a total of four COVID-19 vaccine doses," the CDC says.
That booster shot should come at least six months after the third or additional dose of the mRNA vaccine, according to the CDC. With those additional doses having been approved in August, the earliest people may get a fourth or booster dose of a vaccine will be February of next year. This shot can be Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, or Johnson & Johnson (J&J)/Janssen; the booster is not limited to the vaccine brand that your first three doses were or an mRNA vaccine.
Here's what you need to know about the latest guidance on a fourth dose, including what makes the booster shot different from an additional dose and who is actually eligible for it.