COVID-19 Booster Vax Clinic Scheduled In Melrose

MELROSE, MA — The Melrose and Wakefield Health and Human Services departments will have COVID-19 booster shots available this week at a planned COVID-19 vaccine booster clinic in Melrose, the town of Wakefield announced on Friday of last week.

The clinic is set for Thursday, Sept. 29 at Memorial Hall at 590 Main Street in Melrose. It will run from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.

The clinic is open to those ages 12 and up by appointment only. Individuals needing a vaccine should schedule an appointment time via the link here.

Anyone receiving a vaccine should wear a short sleeve shirt, if possible.

The CDC currently recommends that people 12 and older who have received their full primary series of vaccine doses receive a booster shot. Currently, only the Pfizer vaccine is available to those between the ages of 12 and 17. Both Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are available for those 18 and up.

CDC Director Rochelle Walensky discussed the state of the pandemic last week immediately after receiving her booster at a CVS location in Brookline.

"All the data from this new bivalent vaccine have demonstrated that it will protect you against — more likely protect you — against the strains that we have circulating right now,” she told ABC News.

Walensky's ABC appearance came after President Joe Biden said in a 60 Minutes interview the previous Sunday that “the pandemic is over.”

While saying that the U.S. is currently in a “very different place” compared to earlier stages of the pandemic, Walensky did not directly agree with the president in her comments to ABC.

She said the COVID-19 fatality rate remains too high, discussing continuing CDC efforts to monitor and track the virus.

She also emphasized concurrent CDC warnings about the upcoming flu season, calling on people to get their flu shots in addition to their COVID-19 booster over the next two months ahead of what could be a severe flu season.