EDINBURG — DHR Health will begin administering third doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, or booster shots, to individuals who are immunocompromised.

Dr. Robert Martinez, chief medical officer at DHR Health, speaks Friday at the Edinburg Conference Center in Edinburg. (Joel Martinez | [email protected])

Following authorization from the U.S. Food & Drug Administration to administer booster shots to qualifying individuals, DHR Health announced Friday that they would begin offering those shots beginning Tuesday.

“Studies have shown so far … that folks that are immunocompromised, in particular transplant patients, patients on immunological drugs, cancer patients on chemotherapy, that (they) would benefit greatly from a third dose of the vaccine, it being Moderna of Pfizer,” said Dr. Robert Martinez, chief medical officer for DHR Health.

The hospital will be offering third doses of the vaccine administered by Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech to individuals such as solid organ transplant recipients or “those who are diagnosed with conditions that are considered to have an equivalent level of immunocompromise,” according to a news release issued by the FDA.

“People who are immunocompromised in a manner similar to those who have undergone solid organ transplantation have a reduced ability to fight infections and other diseases,” the release stated, “and they are especially vulnerable to infections, including COVID-19.”

Individuals who go to DHR for a third dose will have to fill out a form stating they received their first and second dose at DHR Health, they’ll need to bring their vaccine card, and they’ll need to sign that form stating they qualify for the third dose, according to DHR Health spokesperson Marcy Martinez, who added they will be posting more information about the third dose on their website and on social media.

“We’re very lucky to have the vaccine that we have now, even for the third dose,” Dr. Robert Martinez said. “We expect that in the coming weeks and months that there will be a change in who might benefit from that vaccine, from the third dose, and so they will be expanding that, but for now, the list is pretty clear — severely immunocompromised patients that would benefit from that.”

Dr. Carlos Cardenas, CAO of DHR Health, speaks Friday at the Edinburg Conference Center in Edinburg. (Joel Martinez | [email protected])

In fact, DHR is already seeking authorization to expand the pool of people who can get the third dose, according to Dr. Sohail Rao, CEO of DHR Health Institute for Research and Development.

Rao said DHR submitted an Investigational New Drug Application, or IND, last month requesting that they be allowed to administer third doses of the Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine to high risk healthcare workers.

“High risk healthcare workers included those that are immuno-suppressed but it also included those that are Type II diabetics, hypertensives, patients with chronic kidney disease but a number of comorbidities,” Rao said. “And the idea there was that these individuals are very high risk of developing serious disease if they develop COVID positive so can we prevent that from happening?”

“I’m hoping that within the next week or 10 days we will get the approval,” he added.

Hospital officials reminded that they continue offering first and second doses of the vaccine at the Edinburg Conference Center at Renaissance every week, Tuesday through Friday, from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Dr. Martinez highlighted that DHR has, so far, administered more than 230,000 doses of the COVID vaccine and said they expect a significant ramp up as they start administering third doses.

But currently, Martinez said they have plenty of doses and urged people to get vaccinated in general.

“If they haven’t gotten the first dose or still need a second dose, please do that,” Martinez said of the general public. “Please seek vaccination wherever you may have gotten your other vaccine or even here. Luckily we’ve got plenty of vaccine to be able to give at this point.”


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