Thinking about a second booster? Here's what a local expert has to say

With COVID-19 cases once again rising, many North Carolinians are weighing whether to get a second booster shot. 

Additional booster doses are available to people over the age of 50 and those with high-risk health conditions, as long as they got their first booster at least four months ago. People who received two shots of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine four months ago are eligible too. 

Dr. David Priest with Novant Health says the decision to get a booster is a little more complicated if you've already been infected by the virus.

“My personal view is that if someone has had COVID, I count that episode as a dose of vaccine," said Priest. "So if someone's had two doses of vaccine, and they've had COVID, that in my mind, that's the equivalent to three doses of vaccine.”

He says additional boosters have shown to be most effective in people over the age of 65 and those who are immunocompromised.

“If someone's had three doses of vaccine, and they've had COVID, and they're around the age of 50, I don't know that a fourth dose adds much there," says Priest. 

Second boosters are available in several locations in the Triad. A list can be found at Vaccines.gov.