Get Your Shots, NYC — Health Department Expands Booster Eligibility to All New Yorkers 18+

Big news for folks seeking a third Covid-19 shot — on Monday, the NYC Health Department announced that booster shots are now available to all New Yorkers ages 18-plus who need one. 

Boosters were previously available to New Yorkers ages 65+, the immunocompromised, people with comorbidities and those in public-facing jobs, categories that covered about 85 percent of the vaccinated population. But as cases tick up ever so slightly in the city, the Health Department saw fit to expand eligibility.

“Today I want to emphasize the protection of booster doses of COVID-19 vaccines. Over 630,000 New Yorkers have already received an additional dose. But even more can benefit from a booster ahead of winter and the holidays,” NYC Health Commissioner Dave A. Choksi, MD, said in a series of tweets on Monday, announcing the eligibility expansion. “Clinicians should allow adult patients to determine their own risk of exposure, based on their individual circumstances. In practice, this means that providers should not turn a patient away if they request a booster as long as they are 18 and older and it has been at least [six] months since a Moderna or Pfizer dose or at least [two] months since a Johnson & Johnson dose.”

Booster shots are available at a wide range of city- and state-run vaccination sites; you can make an appointment here. Appointments can also be made through pharmacies like Walgreens and CVS, or you can contact your physician for assistance in making an appointment. 

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