COVID vaccine

 To better accommodate visitors and vendors at the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show, Pima County is changing the location and hours of operation of its vaccine clinic at the Tucson Convention Center, 260 S. Church Ave.

Effective Feb. 1-13, vaccines will be offered in the Coconino Conference Room (entrance is on north side of ticket office) from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday.

This is a walk-up clinic with no registration necessary. Free parking will be available in Lot A as space permits.

Pima County vaccination sites started offering Pfizer booster shots for 12- to 15-year-olds on Jan. 6, following federal approval a day earlier.

Anyone in that age group is eligible providing it has been at least five months from their second dose.

Previously, only those 16 and over were eligible to receive booster doses. Only the Pfizer vaccine and booster is available for 12- to 17-year-olds. The Pfizer vaccine is authorized for children as young as 5 years old.

The Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines are available to those 18 and over.

The Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) is urging Arizonans to get their COVID-19 booster dose as soon as they can because of the rapid spread nationally of the Omicron variant and the potential for more breakthrough cases among vaccinated people. Those who have yet to be vaccinated also should act now to get the protection offered by safe, free, and highly effective COVID-19 vaccines.

Last Friday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) joined the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in authorizing a single booster dose of the Moderna and Pfizer mRNA vaccines for all adults 18 years and
older. This recent action allows individuals 18 years and older, who have completed their initial COVID-19 vaccine series to receive a booster shot at least six months after completing their initial vaccine series.