Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director Dr. Rochelle Walensky has chosen to go against her agency’s advisers, complicating an already confusing situation regarding Covid-19 booster shots, but by doing so making all teachers eligible for the Pfizer booster shot. 

School nurse Mrs. Marianne Vogt ’88 said that because the CDC panel did not recommend the booster, the announcement signified a very rare decision. “I think it’s great if you can get (the booster), but (the panel was) really torn about whether it should just be for people who are at high risk, who are a little bit older and have medical conditions, versus whether or not a younger, healthy teacher needs to get a booster at this point. It’s something that’s going to have to be up to each individual, maybe between them and their doctor,” she said.

One educator who plans on receiving the booster shot is social studies teacher Mr. Frank Karczewski. Karczewski, whose mother is a nurse, noted that he would be getting the booster in order to keep those around him safe. “It was taught to me (by my parents) as a common courtesy type of thing,” Karczewski said. “You get your vaccines, not for yourself, but to protect people around you. (I’m) just listening to my parents.” 

The CDC panel did decide to endorse a third booster shot for individuals over the age of 65, patients in nursing homes and people with underlying medical conditions. On Sept. 22, the Food and Drug Administration approved booster shots for some frontline workers, and it is here that the director’s guidance differs from the panel’s. The advisers on the panel disagreed on the need for so many healthy people to receive a third dose. The director chose to follow the FDA’s advice, while the advisers did not.

Nurse Vogt recommends the vaccine to those who have yet to receive it.