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Health

COVID-19 Vaccination May Require A Booster After 12 Months

A staffer injects the Pfizer vaccine at an L.A. public housing project.
(
FREDERIC J. BROWN
/
AFP via Getty Images
)

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Los Angeles County health officials are preparing for the possibility that people who have been vaccinated against COVID-19 will, at some point, need a booster shot.

Last week, the CEO of Pfizer said a one-third vaccine dose will likely be needed within 12 months of getting fully vaccinated.

In an interview with our newsroom’s All Things Considered, L.A. County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said it would not be difficult to get a booster to the public.

"This is something that, with a lot of notice, which we have now, is going to be easy to accomplish,” she said. “We have a flu vaccine that gets administered every year. But we do have to plan for that.”

Public health officials would likely administer a COVID-19 booster alongside the flu vaccine, said Ferrer, adding that she’s hopeful the COVID-19 vaccine will protect people for at least a year so boosters won't be needed right away.

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