These Triangle counties now offer 3rd vaccine doses. What you need to know to get one.

Wake, Orange and Johnston counties are offering third doses of the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines to people who are immunocompromised.

So are Duke Health and UNC Health.

Wake health officials cited new guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as well as the growing threat of the delta variant in a press release Monday.

Hospitalizations from the virus have risen in North Carolina every day for more than a month. As of Friday, about a quarter of all adult COVID-19 patients were in intensive care units.

Kim McDonald, the Wake County Public Health medical director, said in a news release that a third dose “could help prevent serious illness or possibly death.”

Lu Hickey, a spokeswoman for Johnston County, told The News & Observer that the county’s health department also would begin offering third doses to those who meet the CDC guidelines.

Orange County also is administering the third shots, as of Aug. 17.

The Durham County Department of Public Health said it is not offering third doses at this time, as of Aug. 17.

Moderately to severely immunocompromised people make up less than 3% of the U.S. adult population, but accounted for 44% of breakthrough hospitalizations in one study, according to the CDC.

Immunocompromised people do not always build up the same level of immunity after two shots of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine, the county said.

And when they get the virus, they are more likely to spread it to others in their home.

The CDC does not recommend a booster shot for any other group, including people who received the single-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

Who needs a COVID booster

Here’s who the CDC says should get a third dose:

• Cancer patients undergoing active treatment for tumors or cancers of the blood.
• Organ transplant recipients who are taking medicine to suppress their immune systems.
• Stem cell transplant recipients who are less than two years out from their transplant and taking medicine to suppress their immune systems.
• Those with moderate to severe primary immunodeficiency, like DiGeorge syndrome or Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome.
• Those with an advanced or untreated HIV infection.
• Anyone receiving high-dose corticosteroids or other drugs that may suppress one’s immune response.

Rising COVID cases in NC

Confirmed COVID-19 cases have spiked this summer due to the delta variant. The number of cases in Wake County rose 972%, from 247 the week of June 1 to 2,649 the week of Aug. 3, according to a presentation the county commissioners Monday.

The county’s positivity rate, or percentage of COVID-19 tests coming back positive, has nearly doubled in the past two weeks, from 4.3% July 26 to 7.8% Aug. 9.

People who are considering a third dose due to a medical condition should consult their doctors, Wake officials said.

Those seeking an extra shot in Wake will not need to provide proof of a weakened immune system, but must bring their vaccination card and sign a digital form stating they are immunocompromised.

Third doses will be offered at all Wake County Public Health vaccine clinics and events. Appointments are not required, but a third dose must be given at least 28 days after the second dose, the county said.

The additional vaccine dose should be the same as the initial two-dose vaccine.

In Johnston County, Hickey said those seeking a third dose should bring their vaccination cards. Documentation of a medical condition is not required.

Walk-in appointments are available, but appointments are preferred, she added.

Find more information on where to get a third dose here: https://bit.ly/37OMPve.

This story was originally published August 16, 2021 at 9:26 AM.