HENDERSON — Granville Vance Public Health has scheduled two mass vaccination clinics to administer third doses of the Pfizer vaccine against COVID-19.

The first clinic will be 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 1, at the Granville County Expo & Convention Center, 4185 U.S. Highway 15 in Oxford.

The next is scheduled for 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 15, at the Vance-Granville Community College civic center, 200 Community College Road, Henderson.

No appointment is necessary. The shots can also be gotten from pharmacies and doctor’s offices. The health department is also accepting walk-ins Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. in both Oxford and Henderson offices of Granville Vance Public Health.

Booster shots have been federally approved, but only for those who have gotten their first two shots of the Pfizer vaccine.

The third doses will only be given to people who had their second dose at least six months ago, and who fall into one of these categories:

• Adults 65 and older.

• Adults 18 or older who live or work in a nursing home or other long-term care residential facility.

• Adults 18 or older who have a medical condition that puts them at high risk for severe illness, such as obesity, asthma, heart disease, high blood pressure, and diabetes.

• Adults 18 or older who work in a high-risk profession and who comes into contact with a lot of people without knowing their vaccination statues, for example, health care workers, first responders, teachers, food processing workers, retail and restaurant workers, and public transportation workers.

• Adults 18 or older who live or work in a place where many people live together, for example, homeless shelters, correctional facilities, migrant farm housing, dormitories or other group living settings in colleges or universities.

The health department asks you to bring your COVID-19 vaccination record card. Although not necessary, the health department would like to see your insurance card, so that it can recoup some of the cost of the vaccine.

There is never any charge to patients for getting a COVID-19 vaccine.

Booster shots are not yet authorized for people who originally received Moderna or Johnson & Johnson vaccines. Lisa Harrison, the director of the public health department, notes authorization for those booster shots is expected soon.

“I realize it has been somewhat confusing to understand the sound bites on the national news about vaccine boosters,” Harrison wrote in a weekly email update. “Your local public health team is paying close attention to these recommendations and authorizations, and are gearing up for clinics.”

Harrison said the health department is also planning vaccine outreach events to continue to encourage people to get their first and second doses of a vaccine. She noted that getting the unvaccinated vaccinated is more important to public health than getting booster shots to people who have already had some vaccine.

“It’s critical we continue the efforts to stop the spread of the Delta variant of COVID-19 and vaccination is the best proven defense we have against COVID-19, and the best way to help keep the community safe and healthy,” Harrison wrote. “Thank you for caring about your community.”

Granville has seen a recent slowdown in new reported cases of COVID-19, although community transmission remains high.

From Sept. 18-24, the county saw 141 new cases, a 17.5% decrease from the previous week, which saw 171 cases. There have been a total of 96 deaths from the virus in Granville since the start of the pandemic.

Granville has gotten 64% of people 12 and older fully vaccinated.