Health centres in St. Kitts and Nevis are now offering a third dose of a COVID-19 vaccine as well as booster shots for persons who qualify.
On Wednesday’s (November 03, 2021) edition of the National Emergency Operations Centre COVID-19 Briefing, Dr. Cameron Wilkinson, Medical Chief of Staff of the Joseph N. France General Hospital, explained the difference between a third dose and a booster shot.
“There are persons who are immunocompromised and who after getting their first two doses would not have mounted a sufficient antibody response and so they will need to get a third shot to bring them to the level where a normal person with two shots will be,” Dr. Wilkinson stated.
“There are some persons who six months after being vaccinated their immunity starts to wane, and they would require a booster shot.”
Medical advice suggests that older persons who have had their shots earlier in the year are prime candidates for a booster shot.
“If you are over 65 and your last vaccination was six months out, you can go to the clinic and get your booster shot,” Dr. Wilkinson added.
Figures from the November 03 Vaccination Report indicate that 72.9 percent of the adult target population is fully vaccinated. Additionally, 9.2 percent of children between the ages of 12 and 17 years are fully vaccinated.
