PRESS RELEASE
City of Long Beach
Public Information Office
411 W. Ocean Blvd,
Long Beach, CA 90802
www.longbeach.gov
562.441.3590
[email protected]
Public Affairs Officer
Department of Health and Human Services
Long Beach, CA – Starting Friday, December 17th, the Long Beach Department of Health and Human Services (Health Department) will begin offering COVID-19 boosters for 16- and 17-year-olds. Previously, boosters were only authorized for those 18 and older. The boosters administered will be Pfizer brand; Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines and boosters are still only eligible to those 18 and older.
“With boosters becoming available for everyone 16 and older, now we can further protect our community,” said Mayor Robert Garcia. “Our success in vaccinations is thanks to the many people who got their COVID-19 vaccines and boosters early. Let’s keep it up, Long Beach.”
The boosters will be available six months after an eligible person receives their second dose. People should consult their vaccine records and count forward six months from their second dose to see when they can receive the booster. In Long Beach, 3,462 16- and 17-year-olds completed the Pfizer two-dose series by June 17 and will be eligible. All minors need parental consent in order to receive a COVID-19 vaccination. The consent form is available online.
The City’s booster clinics have the capacity to administer boosters to all eligible people. Boosters also will be available at all City-run vaccine sites, which run six days per week and have both day and evening appointments available. Up-to-date schedules can be found at longbeach.gov/vaxlb or by calling 562.570.4636. Eligible people may also receive boosters through their healthcare provider or at the many local pharmacies administering the booster.
Vaccine has proven to be effective against the widely circulating Delta variant and is believed to provide protection against the newly-identified and highly contagious Omicron variant.
It remains critical that everyone 5 years old and older get vaccinated, and that people who receive Pfizer or Moderna vaccines get both doses. Nearly all cases of severe disease, hospitalization and death from COVID-19 continue to occur among those not yet fully vaccinated.