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Rochester, MN (KROC AM News) -  The three major health care organizations in the Rochester area have released details of their plans to offer Covid vaccine booster shots to patients.

For now, only the Pfizer booster has been approved by the federal government.

Olmsted County Public Health Services, Mayo Clinic, and Olmsted Medical Center will follow the CDC guidance for the booster shots and offer them to eligible patients:

  • People age 65 and older should get the booster.
  • People ages 50–64 with underlying medical conditions should get the booster.
  • People ages 18–49 with underlying medical conditions, based on individual benefit and risk may get the booster.
  • People ages 18–64 with frequent exposure to COVID-19 that puts them at high risk may get the booster (e.g., health care workers, teachers and child care staff, grocery workers, and occupants of homeless shelters or prisons).

    Olmsted County Public Health Services

For booster shots, OCPHS will be contacting individuals originally vaccinated by OCPHS based on their eligibility and providing instructions on how to get their vaccine booster. COVID-19 vaccine boosters will not be provided during seasonal influenza vaccine clinics.

Mayo Clinic

The four populations eligible to receive COVID-19 vaccine booster doses at Mayo Clinic are:

  • People over age 65.
  • People ages 50–64 with underlying medical conditions.
  • People ages 18–49 with underlying medical conditions, based on individual benefit and risk.
  • People ages 18–64 with frequent institutional or occupational exposure to COVID-19 that puts them at high risk of serious complications of COVID-19, including severe COVID-19.

Mayo Clinic began offering booster vaccines to eligible patients and staff on September 24, 2021. Patients 65 and older will be contacted through Patient Online Services and by letter.

Patients and staff at high risk of severe COVID-19 infection or who have underlying medical conditions such as obesity, asthma and diabetes, and where occupational exposure to COVID-19 would put them at high risk of severe infection will not receive formal communication from Mayo Clinic. If you fall into one of these categories and are six months past your initial Pfizer vaccination series, you should schedule an appointment online using Patient Online Services.

Eligible patients can call or use online services to schedule a COVID-19 vaccine booster:

Rochester: 507-538-4040
Mayo Clinic Health System in Southeast Minnesota

In Rochester, if eligible patients and staff are interested in receiving their flu vaccination at the same time as their COVID-19 booster, Mayo is offering this combination the week of October 4, 2021. View the Rochester schedule for details.

Olmsted Medical Center (OMC) booster shot plans

Due to the number of patients eligible, OMC will be prioritizing individuals 65 years of age and older for the Pfizer COVID-19 booster, followed by individuals 50–64 years of age with underlying medical conditions based on CDC recommendations. OMC will be contacting patients who qualify and providing information on how to schedule an appointment. OMC will reach out through email, OMC MyChart, or the telephone appointment reminder system.

Local pharmacies

Many pharmacies are also providing COVID-19 vaccine boosters. You can find a location on the MDH Vaccine Finder website.

News update: Rochester police investigating reported mugging.

FILL IN THE BLANK: Rochester has way too many ________.

If someone asked you, "What does Rochester have too many of?", what would you say? I asked that question to people living in the Med City and got quite the list of answers. Some might make you laugh (cause they are true) and others may have you scratching your head a bit because this is the first time you've realized we have a few issues happening in our gorgeous city. Scroll through the list that were sent to me and see how many you agree with.

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