Giant Eagle pharmacies once again will require an appointment for anyone seeking a covid-19 vaccine, a spokesman for the company said Saturday.
The grocery store/pharmacy chain had been taking walk-ins for the vaccine, but the appointment requirement is being reinstated because of an “anticipated increase in demand” spurred by the booster shot guidance released earlier this week.
The appointment requirement is for any vaccine, whether it is for a first or second dose or a booster.
Appointments can be made online at gianteagle.com/response.
The Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday authorized booster doses of Pfizer’s covid-19 vaccine for certain groups of Americans, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention expanded on those groups Friday.
The booster shots are recommended for people 65 and older, long-term care residents and people 50 to 64 with underlying health problems.
People ages 18 to 49 who are at high risk of severe illness because of underlying medical conditions also are eligible, along with those whose occupational or institutional status puts them at a higher risk. That means health care workers and people who live in congregate settings such as homeless shelters or prisons are eligible.
Those who fall within those guidelines can make an appointment at any Giant Eagle Pharmacy location.
The booster shots are different than the third dose recommended for particularly immunocompromised people. In August, the FDA authorized a third dose of Pfizer or Moderna vaccines as part of the normal vaccination regimen for people with weakened immune systems.
Booster shots are for people whose immunity has waned over time. The third dose is helping people with weakened immune systems reach the level of immunity others reached with the traditional two-dose regimen.
Those eligible for the third shot include people receiving cancer treatment, organ transplant recipients, stem cell transplant recipients, those with advanced or untreated HIV infection and people with other immunodeficiency disorders.
