Almost 9,000 Vaccinated Marylanders Get Additional Shots Since Approval of Pfizer Booster

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Tamla Adams has questions about the booster shot. She is fully vaccinated, having taken the Johnson and Johnson vaccine. Still, she said she is ready to get the booster if needed.

"Yes, along with my family, we all want to get one," Adams told WJZ Investigator Mike Hellgren.

She said she remains concerned about the rising number of covid cases. Maryland reported almost 1,000 new infections Monday. "We didn't know if this shot was going to be 100% bulletproof so it's always going to be a concern to me with the vaccine or without it."

In Maryland, 60,624 fully vaccinated people have gotten an additional dose of vaccine. That is up by 8,920 shots since Friday when the state and the CDC approved Pfizer boosters for those older than 65, those with serious health conditions and those with jobs that put them at risk.

You can read more about who is eligible here.

A "data processing issue" delayed the vaccine data on Monday, according to the Maryland Department of Health.

Dr. David Dowdy, an associate professor of epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, told Hellgren it is good to check with your doctor if you have questions about whether to get the additional shot.

"Anytime you have a landscape this complex where you've got three different vaccines out there and different people have been vaccinated for different periods of time, there's going to be some confusion. Talking to your doctor is always a very reasonable option. And wherever it was that you got your vaccine from—vaccine providers—they are also getting up-to-date information as to who is eligible and who they should be giving the vaccine to," Dr. Dowdy said.

The focus in Maryland and across the country remains on convincing the unvaccinated to get the shot. In Baltimore City, 65.7% of those 12 and older have received at least one dose.

Breakthrough cases—those infections among the vaccinated—have also increased as the Delta variant has spread. There have been 18,243 breakthrough cases in Maryland since January—making up almost 11% of infections.

Doctors note those vaccinated are much less likely to get seriously ill.

"Breakthrough cases are rare events and especially breakthrough cases leading to hospitalization and death. That is incredibly rare," Dr. Cameron Webb, a member of The White House's covid response team, told Hellgren.

The vaccinated account for fewer than one in 10 of those hospitalized and with covid in Maryland.

In:
• Moderna
• Maryland
• Baltimore
• COVID-19
• Delta Variant
• Pfizer
• Baltimore City
• HealthyMD