UAMS Offers Booster COVID Vaccines
| LITTLE ROCK — The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) will begin offering third doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine to qualifying individuals on Monday, Sept. 27, at the Vaccine Clinic at 401 S. Monroe St. in Little Rock. This clinic also provides seasonal flu vaccines.
In accordance with FDA authorization, third doses of the Pfizer COVID vaccine will be administered to those over age 65, those with chronic health conditions who are at risk for severe disease, and those at risk of serious complications due to frequent exposure to the coronavirus at their jobs at least six months after their second dose of the vaccine.
Qualifying health conditions may include being overweight, pregnancy, diabetes, immunosuppression, heart or lung disease, chronic kidney disease, sickle cell disease, neurodevelopmental disorders such as cerebral palsy or a medical-related technological dependence such as tracheostomy, gastrostomy, or positive pressure ventilation (not related to COVID-19).
The Vaccine Clinic is open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Beginning Oct. 2, the clinic will also be open from 8 a.m. to noon on Saturdays.
First and second doses of both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are also available. All COVID-19 vaccines are free to the patient and will be billed to the patient’s insurance, if available. Influenza vaccines also will be billed to the patient’s insurance, if available, but patients will be responsible for any remaining balance. Appointments are recommended but not required. To schedule an appointment, call 501-686-8960.
“We are here to help keep Arkansans healthy, and right now the best way to do this is easy and convenient access to vaccines,” said Cam Patterson, M.D., MBA, UAMS chancellor and CEO of UAMS Health. “Many Arkansans who are at higher risk of complications from COVID due to their age, underlying health conditions or exposure to the virus at their job have been anxiously awaiting access to a third dose of the Pfizer vaccine. We are ready to serve these individuals, along with people who now want to get their first or second dose of the vaccine.
“Everyone can get their flu shot at UAMS at the same time they get their COVID shot – it’s basically a one-stop vaccine clinic,” Patterson said. “It’s important to remember that influenza remains a serious health threat, and everyone needs a flu shot this fall too. This site in the heart of Little Rock makes it easy to take care of both vaccines with convenient hours and free front-door parking. This clinic can accommodate several hundred patients a day.”
UAMS continues to offer third doses of both the Pfizer and Moderna COVID vaccine to moderate to severely immunocompromised UAMS patients at the Vaccine Clinic at least 28 days after their second dose. Booster doses of the Moderna vaccine are not available at this time to anyone who does meet the medical requirements as moderate to severely immunocompromised.
UAMS also offers COVID and influenza vaccines at 25 other sites across the state, including several Central Arkansas locations. Learn more at uams.health/covidvaccine.
UAMS is the state’s only health sciences university, with colleges of Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Health Professions and Public Health; a graduate school; a hospital; a main campus in Little Rock; a Northwest Arkansas regional campus in Fayetteville; a statewide network of regional campuses; and eight institutes: the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, Jackson T. Stephens Spine & Neurosciences Institute, Harvey & Bernice Jones Eye Institute, Psychiatric Research Institute, Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging, Translational Research Institute, Institute for Digital Health & Innovation and the Institute for Community Health Innovation. UAMS includes UAMS Health, a statewide health system that encompasses all of UAMS’ clinical enterprise. UAMS is the only adult Level 1 trauma center in the state. UAMS has 3,275 students, 890 medical residents and fellows, and five dental residents. It is the state’s largest public employer with more than 12,000 employees, including 1,200 physicians who provide care to patients at UAMS, its regional campuses, Arkansas Children’s, the VA Medical Center and Baptist Health. Visit www.uams.edu or uamshealth.com. Find us on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), YouTube or Instagram.###