WASHINGTON (AP) — Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, a cancer survivor, said Sunday he’s received a third shot of the coronavirus vaccine and he’s urging the federal government to make booster shots available earlier than currently planned.
Hogan appeared on CBS’ “Face the Nation” and said he received the additional dose this week on the recommendation of his doctors.
Asked if he wanted Marylanders to get the booster shot as soon as possible, or wait the eight months that is currently recommended under federal guidelines, he said, “No, we can’t wait that long.”
He said he’s pushing the federal government to speed up the time frame for providing booster shots, and he’s pushing for full FDA approval of the vaccine. He said many of those who have refused to get the vaccine have cited the fact that the vaccines do not have full approval but instead are being administered under an emergency use authorization.
Federal officials announced this week a plan to start administering booster shots to the general public beginning the week of Sept. 20. The recommendations call for people to wait eight months from their second dose before receiving the booster. Officials said the eight-month timeframe was a judgment call about when vaccine protection against severe illness might fall.
Some public health experts have said that a booster shot administered too early won’t be as effective.
Those with compromised immune systems, like Hogan, can receive a third dose without waiting eight months.
Hogan, a two-term Republican in a heavily Democratic state, was diagnosed in 2015 with stage 3 non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. He underwent an aggressive chemotherapy treatment and has been cancer-free for more than five years.
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