COVID-19 Vaccines for Moderately to Severely Immunocompromised People

People who are moderately to severely immunocompromised are especially vulnerable to COVID-19 because they are more at risk of serious, prolonged illness. Studies indicate some immunocompromised people don’t always build the same level of immunity after vaccination the way non-immunocompromised people do.

CDC recommends that people with moderately to severely compromised immune systems receive an additional dose of mRNA COVID-19 vaccine at least 28 days after a second dose of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine.

CDC does not recommend additional doses or booster shots for any other population at this time.

We still await guidance from WI Department of Health & Services in order to provide these additional doses.

COVID-19 Vaccine BenefitsCOVID-19 vaccine is free and gets you back to do doing the things you enjoy.

COVID-19 Vaccine is Safe and EffectiveThe U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) to the Pfizer vaccine, Moderna vaccine, and Janssen vaccine (Johnson & Johnson). These COVID-19 vaccines were evaluated in tens of thousands of participants during clinical trials and have met the FDA’s rigorous scientific standards for safety, effectiveness, and manufacturing quality needed to support emergency use authorization (EUA). Learn more about EUAs in this video.

Millions of people in the United States have received COVID-19 vaccines and the number is growing each day. These vaccines are undergoing the most intensive safety monitoring in U.S. history. This monitoring includes using both established and new safety monitoring systems to make sure that COVID-19 vaccines are safe.

Wisconsin is part of the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) that collects reports from healthcare professionals, vaccine manufacturers, and the public to monitor all adverse events and provide timely reports of any unusual patterns. Adverse events will also be monitored nationally through electronic health records and claims-based systems. Safety monitoring system, such as V-Safe, will also be used to watch for side effects.

You can check your vaccine record or for a family member that you care for at Public Immunization Record Access.

DHS Fact Sheet for Parents - What You Should Know about the COVID-19 Vaccine

COVID-19 Vaccination Sites in our Community

Finding and connecting with vaccine locations in your community

Answering medical questions related to the COVID-19 vaccine

Appointment registration

And more!

The new call center will be equipped to help individuals find vaccine locations, answer medical questions related to the COVID-19 vaccine, and assist with registration, including but not limited to using the Wisconsin COVID-19 vaccine registry. This call center is available to anyone in Wisconsin, but will be particularly useful for those without internet access, or who experience barriers that inhibit internet use.

Pregnant or Breastfeeding?  Check out this fact sheet to help you make a decision about the COVID-19 Vaccine: DHS Pregnant or Breastfeeding and the COVID-19 Vaccine

After you get the vaccine

The WI Department of Health Services (DHS) has adopted the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) new guidance for fully vaccinated people. 

Fully vaccinated people can:

• Visit with other fully vaccinated people indoors without wearing masks or physical distancing
• Visit with unvaccinated people (including children) from a single household who are at low risk for severe COVID-19 disease indoors without wearing masks or physical distancing
• Participate in outdoor activities and recreation without a mask, except in certain crowded settings and venues
• Resume domestic travel and refrain from testing before or after travel or self-quarantine after travel
• Refrain from testing before leaving the United States for international travel (unless required by the destination) and refrain from self-quarantine after arriving back in the United States
• Refrain from testing following a known exposure, if asymptomatic, with some exceptions for specific settings
• Refrain from quarantine following a known exposure if asymptomatic
• Refrain from routine screening testing if asymptomatic and feasible

For now, fully vaccinated people should continue to:

• Take precautions in indoor public settings like wearing a well-fitted mask
• Wear well-fitted masks when visiting indoors with unvaccinated people who are at increased risk for severe COVID-19 disease or who have an unvaccinated household member who is at increased risk for severe COVID-19 disease
• Wear well-fitted masks when visiting indoors with unvaccinated people from multiple households
• Avoid indoor large-sized in-person gatherings
• Get tested if experiencing COVID-19 symptoms
• Follow guidance issued by individual employers
• Follow CDC and health department travel requirements and recommendations

Learn more: dhs.wisconsin.gov/covid-19/vaccine-after.htm or https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/fully-vaccinated-guidance.html

































What You Should Know About the Possibility of COVID-19 Illness After Vaccination

Visit the CDI's website for more information: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/effectiveness/why-measure-effectiveness/breakthrough-cases.html