SU to offer COVID-19 vaccine booster shots for student employees

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Syracuse University will offer COVID-19 vaccine booster shots to student employees starting Wednesday. 

The university will offer Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson booster shots through the Barnes Center at The Arch, said Karen Nardella, the medical director at the Barnes Center, in an email to student employees on Tuesday.

Students who received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine can also receive any of the three booster vaccines between Wednesday and Friday at the Barnes Center, Nardella said in a separate email to students who received Johnson & Johnson vaccine at SU.

The university will offer Johnson & Johnson vaccines on Wednesday afternoon, Moderna on Thursday and Pfizer on Friday, Nardella said. Students can make appointments through the Barnes Center’s patient portal.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that people who had the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines receive boosters at least six months after their initial vaccine series. Those who received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine should get a booster at least two months after their initial shot, according to the CDC. 

It is recommended that people who received Pfizer and Moderna vaccinations receive booster shots of the vaccine they initially received, Nardella said in the email to student employees. Johnson & Johnson vaccine recipients can receive any of the three booster shots. 

The Food and Drug Administration announced on Oct. 20 that people over age 65 and those between the ages of 18 to 64 who are at high risk, either due to medical conditions or working conditions, can receive Moderna booster shots at least six months after their second dose of the vaccine. The FDA also announced that Johnson & Johnson vaccine recipients can receive a second dose two months after their initial dose. 

The FDA first approved Pfizer booster shots for certain populations at least six months after their second dose of the vaccine on Sept. 22.