A wider swath of Wyomingites is now eligible for Pfizer COVID-19 booster shots after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention authorized the additional inoculations. 

The Wyoming Department of Health has broken eligibility into those who “should” get the additional shot, and those who “may,” based on their personal risk or environment. 

Those who should get a booster include residents 65 years and older, long-term care residents and adults over 50 years with certain chronic conditions. 

Those who may get the extra dose are those over 18 years old with certain chronic conditions and those who are more likely to be exposed to the virus based on their employer or living situation. 

Eligible residents should wait at least six months from their second shot before seeking a booster.

“While we continue to emphasize the importance of COVID-19 vaccines for those people who are not yet vaccinated, these booster doses are intended to help provide continued strong protection for those who are most likely to experience severe illness or exposure to the virus,” State Health Officer Dr. Alexia Harrist said in a statement Friday.

Roughly 3,200 Wyomingites have already received a booster dose. 

The CDC decision came unilaterally from that agency’s director, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, despite an advisory panel recommending against it. That panel does support booster shots for the elderly and those with chronic illnesses but pushed back on expanding eligibility to those in high-exposure professions like health care and education. 

The World Health Organization has also urged the U.S. to hold off on approving booster shots until a larger proportion of the world has access to initial doses. 

“This was a scientific close call. In that situation, it was my call to make,” Walensky said during a White House briefing Friday. 

The expansion comes as transmission is surging nationwide, with the vast majority of the nation experiencing the highest degree of virus transmission over the last week, according to the CDC.

In information circulated to public health officials, the Wyoming Department of Health said the booster recommendation “was not unexpected and does not mean that vaccines are ineffective for other populations.”

“COVID-19 vaccines continue to be safe and effective against COVID-19, including the variants, and protect very well against severe illness and hospitalization,” the department said.

 (This story has been edited for space and updated. To see the original version, visit https://tinyurl.com/2wva2rem.)