MARQUETTE — The Marquette County Health Department will hold community clinics offering the Moderna vaccine in the Northern Center ballrooms at Northern Michigan University on Saturday and Nov. 3.

Appointments can be made by following the scheduling link at mqthealth.org. For more information or to obtain help with scheduling, call 906-475-9977 and follow the prompts. Individuals are asked to bring their vaccination cards and photo IDs to their appointments.

The MCHD said that on Thursday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices voted to recommend a single COVID-19 vaccine booster dose in certain populations for people who received Moderna or Johnson & Johnson/Janssen vaccines as their COVID-19 primary series.

Boosters are recommended six months after completing the Moderna series and two months after the single-dose J&J-Janssen series, the health department said, for these groups:

≤ individuals ages 65 and older;

≤ individuals ages 50 to 64 years with underlying medical conditions;

≤ individuals ages 18 to 49 years with underlying medical conditions based on individual benefits and risks; and

≤ individuals ages 18 to 64 years who are at increased risk for COVID-19 exposure and transmission because of occupational or institutional setting based on their individual benefits and risks.

The MCHD indicated that unlike last winter, the vaccine is widely available in the community, with alternative locations that can provide boosters as well. This includes area pharmacies and provider offices that have enrolled in the COVID-19 Vaccine Provider program.

The MCHD clinic in Negaunee Township has ongoing clinics. Call 906-475-7844 to schedule an appointment.

Vaccines also are available at Walgreen’s, Walmart, Meijer, Snyders Drug Stores, Campus Pharmacy, CVS-Target and Upper Great Lakes Family Health Centers.

MCHD will be offer free, in-home, Johnson & Johnson/Janssen COVID-19 vaccine appointments to homebound Marquette County residents. The J&J-Janssen vaccine is one shot and is recommended for people age 18 years and older.

Based on demand, MCHD will offer appointments on a weekly basis. Anyone interested in scheduling an appointment should call 906-458-0651.

For more information, visit mqthealth.org.

Vaccines to be expedited

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Tuesday issued an executive directive to state departments and agencies to expedite the ordering and distribution of the Pfizer-BioNTech pediatric coronavirus vaccines to protect Michiganders between the ages of 5 to 11 years old.

The directive also is to ensure that students could continue in-person learning in a safe environment this year.

“The Michigan-made Pfizer vaccine is safe, effective, free and expected to be approved for Michiganders between 5 and 11 years old,” Whitmer said in a statement. “This is a game-changer for our kids that will protect them as they continue to learn in-person in the classroom this school year, participate in extracurricular activities, or see friends and family this holiday season.

“My directive today ensures equitable, expedited distribution of the vaccines. Parents should sign up to protect their kids.”

According to the governor’s office, the FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee met on Tuesday to discuss emergency use authorization of the safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine for children. The VRBPAC then was to issue its recommendation to the Center for Disease Control’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, which is scheduled to meet next Tuesday and Wednesday to review data and recommendations.

ACIP is anticipated to issue a recommendation, which will go to the CDC for final approval of the emergency-use authorization.

Based on data provided by Pfizer, the vaccine was shown to be nearly 91% effective during trials at preventing symptomatic disease from COVID-19 in the age group, the governor’s office said.