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Georgia Department of Health to offer Pfizer booster shots starting next week

ATLANTA — The Georgia Department of Health will begin administering booster doses at state health department vaccination locations on next week.

Officials said they will begin to give out the Pfizer-BioNTech boosters on Monday.

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The agency said they currently have enough vaccines to ensure that all Georgians who are eligible will have access to the booster.

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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have recommended booster doses of the Pfizer vaccine for anyone 65 years old and older six months after their initial 2-dose series. People over age 50 with underlying conditions are recommended to get a booster. Boosters will also be available for people over 18 who have underlying medical conditions.

The boosters will also be available for anyone 18 and older who are at an increased risk for exposure and transmission of COVID-19 because of their job.

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Only the Pfizer vaccine has been approved for a booster, and only people who initially had the Pfizer vaccine are eligible.

Channel 2′s Richard Elliot was at a pharmacy in DeKalb County that started giving out the booster on Friday.

Elliot talked to several people who came to the Briarcliff Pharmacy to get their booster as soon as they were able to.

Former DeKalb County Schools Superintendent James Hallford was one of them.

“I firmly believe in my responsibility to protect myself and those around me and others whom I come into contact with,” Hallford said.

Briarcliff’s pharmacist, Neil Wiseman, was doling out the booster shots. He said a lot of them are going to front-line workers.

“Let’s be honest, they’re the ones at risk right now,” Wiseman said. “So to try and get them vaccinated and boosted up is a real big concern of not only our pharmacy, but every other pharmacy to protect these individuals that are caring for those who are actually in the hospital with it.”

Hallford said he thinks everyone eligible should get the booster, and everyone should absolutely get the vaccine.

“Personally, I think its the thing to do,” Hallford said. “I recommend it. I recommend it to my family and my friends and I will continue to do so.”