PACIFIC COUNTY — Appointments for booster shots of Moderna’s and Johnson & Johnson’s covid-19 vaccine are now available to be scheduled locally for those eligible after the two drugmakers each won approval from federal regulators late last week.

The move comes weeks after booster shots were authorized for Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine in late September. In Pacific County, more than 1,000 booster shots have been given to those seeking additional protection from covid-19 in the past month, and thousands of more county residents who initially received Moderna’s or Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine are now eligible as well.

The new recommendations from regulators and advisors with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also allow for people to “mix and match” booster doses, which means that someone can get a different vaccine for their booster dose than they got for their initial vaccine series.

The CDC recommends that anyone 18 and older who initially received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine should get a booster shot two months or later after their first dose — whether it be a second Johnson & Johnson dose, or either Pfizer or Moderna.

For anyone who initially received either of the two-dose mRNA vaccines, Pfizer or Moderna, the CDC recommends certain people may or should get a booster dose six months or later after they received their second dose. Once again, the booster can be any of the three vaccines available in the U.S. and does not have to be the same vaccine they initially received.

Currently, booster doses are being recommended to the following groups of people who initially received either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine:

• People 65 and older should get a booster dose;

• People 50-64 with underlying medical conditions should get a booster dose;

• People 18 and older who live in a long-term care setting should get a booster dose;

• People 18-49 who are at high risk for severe covid-19 due to certain underlying medical conditions — including cancer, diabetes, obesity, chronic organ diseases, or heart conditions, among others — may get a booster dose;

• People 18-64 who are at increased risk of covid-19 exposure and transmission because of where they live or work — including first responders, educators and school staff, grocery store workers and food and agriculture workers, among others — may get a booster dose.

People are still considered fully vaccinated two weeks after receiving the second dose of a two-dose vaccine series (Pfizer or Moderna), or two weeks after receiving a single-dose vaccine (Johnson & Johnson). Any of the boosters can also be coadministered with other vaccines, such as the flu vaccine.

While the efficacy of covid-19 vaccines in the U.S. have appeared to wane over time in preventing mild or moderate disease, data presented to health officials during the booster authorization process showed that the initial vaccine series people received continues to strongly protect against severe virus cases that can require hospitalization or lead to death.

Pacific County Public Health and Human Services Director Katie Lindstrom said that while each of the vaccines have proven to be effective, she would recommend to people who are mulling their choices to get a booster of Moderna’s vaccine, or Pfizer, the other mRNA vaccine, if Moderna isn’t available. Moderna’s vaccine, data shows, has proven to perform the best of the vaccines when it comes to preventing infection.

“Quite honestly, any booster is really going to provide a lot of benefits for the person. We definitely recommend that people who meet the qualifications consider getting their booster,” Lindstrom said.

For a list of all upcoming vaccine clinics in Pacific County, visit www.pacificcountycovid19.com.