Immunocompromised, and Denied Covid Shots or Medication?

For background, I was diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis in May 2009 and have taken weekly Enbrel injections since September 2009. I was denied my extra vaccine dose at a Walmart pharmacy shortly after the CDC came out with guidance for the extra dose recommended for people who are immunocompromised. I stepped aside to pull up on my phone the CDC guidance and (as kindly as possible!) showed it to the pharmacist. The pharmacist spent fifteen minutes on the phone before coming back to inform me I was correct but then had to wait five more days until it was exactly five months to the day after my third vaccine dose. I decided it was more important during this Omicron outbreak to get the booster a few days “early,” so I signed up for a vaccination drive the following day and successfully received my booster dose with no troubles or further pushback. I’m now ten days post booster and happy I didn’t give up after the initial denial!

My daughter is HLA B27 positive with arthritic joints on Enbrel. She is 17 years old and was denied a 3rd dose at our local CVS because she was not over 18 years old. We showed them the CDC guidelines for ages 12-17 on biologics but were still denied the 3rd dose. We explained the difference between a 3rd dose and a “booster,” and the pharmacist failed to understand, saying their policies at CVS did not allow them to administer a booster to someone under 18 years old. We left without a 3rd dose. She did receive a booster once 12 to 17-year-olds were cleared for boosters. Of note...she was vaccinated with 2 doses of Pfizer and got a breakthrough COVID infection exactly five months later.

I have AS and was on Humira when I had my Covid -19 vaccine on March 8, 2021. It was a J&J shot. Thirty days after my Covid shot, I was hospitalized for 8 days with severe sepsis, and was placed on IV intravenous antibiotics for an additional 6 weeks after discharge. Thirty days after ending the IV course of antibiotics (June 30) I had a breakthrough infection of Covid. I was very ill and received monoclonal antibodies. I quarantined for 21 days. On October 30, 2021, I received my booster shot. It was Moderna. My doctors thought I should have an additional booster, but I have been denied by pharmacies because it hasn’t been 5 months since my booster. I continue to mask and social distance. I would like to get an additional booster as I was immunosuppressed when I had the first shot. That shot was also J&J which is now supposed to be 2 shots, not one. I feel I’ve had less vaccine than those that were given Pfizer and Modern’s protocol. There should be some room in the CDC protocols to get an additional dose for those of us that actually want to get vaccinated, especially given so many are refusing to do so, which puts those of us who are immunosuppressed at greater risk.

Had J&J, April 2021. Pfizer, November 2021. Went to get second Pfizer booster in early January. Denied at City of Seattle clinic. Note: all shot history in database. Told nurse I was on Enbrel. She got it… best bet was to just forget my card and head to Walgreens.

I am immunocompromised and have had three vaccines. When I asked the pharmacist about the fourth after hearing it was available from the CDC, he said it wasn’t approved by the state of Washington. Since then, I have read several articles, including ones from sources in Washington that it has been approved for the immunocompromised. How do I get this extra vaccine?

I tried to get my third vaccine dose back in September and was told I didn't qualify by my local pharmacy. They were only giving them to cancer patients and organ transplant patients. I ended up going two counties over and finally got it in October.