California and Colorado both expanded COVID-19 booster eligibility to all fully vaccinated adults Nov. 10.
As COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations surge across Colorado, health officials said all adults across the state are now eligible for booster doses of the vaccine, according to The Denver Post.
This comes a day after Colorado reactivated crisis standards of care for staffing of healthcare systems in the state, which are facing workforce shortages amid the latest COVID-19 surge.
Health officials said they're expanding booster eligibility as the entire state is considered at high risk from the virus.
"Because disease spread is so significant across Colorado, all Coloradans (ages 18+) qualify for a booster," said Jessica Bralish, a spokesperson for the Colorado health department, in a statement to the news outlet. She said the state's decision to expand booster eligibility aligns with the CDC's guidance, which recommends boosters for those who are at "high risk because of where you live or work."
"With an estimated 1 in 48 Coloradans infected, it is likely that all Coloradans can be exposed to COVID-19 where they live or work," Ms. Bralish said in the statement to The Denver Post.
All Colorado adults who received their second dose of Pfizer or Moderna's mRNA vaccine at least six months ago now qualify for boosters.
The California Department of Public Health also instructed healthcare providers to not deny booster shots to any adults who are requesting them, as long as they meet the timeline requirements for a booster.
"Allow patients to self-determine their risk of exposure," Tomás J. Aragón, MD, director of the state's public health department, wrote in a Nov. 10 letter to providers.
The recommendation comes after the state's initial booster rollout was met with low demand, according to the Los Angeles Times. As of Nov. 10, only 34 percent of residents 65 and over have gotten a booster, along with about 14 percent of all fully vaccinated adults in the state, CDC data shows.
For the nearly 15 million people nationwide who received Johnson & Johnson's vaccine, the CDC recommends they get their booster shot after at least two months has elapsed since they got their initial J&J shot. Meanwhile, Moderna and Pfizer recipients who are age 65 and older, adults at high risk of severe COVID-19 infection or adults whose jobs put them at a higher risk of infection are eligible for a booster dose at least six months after completing their two-dose series, according to the CDC's eligibility criteria.
On Nov. 9, Pfizer and partner BioNTech also asked the FDA to allow booster shots for all adults. It's unclear how long it will take for the FDA to act on Pfizer's request.