People with immune systems weakened from a medical condition or from medication can receive their third dose of COVID-19 vaccine at the Butler Memorial Hospital vaccine clinic beginning Wednesday.

The hospital announced Tuesday that immunocompromised patients can begin receiving their third doses based on directions from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

First and second doses remain available for eligible people at the first floor clinic at the hospital's Crossroad campus on Oneida Valley Road.

To receive a third shot, people will be required to attest to any one of the criteria spelled out on the Butler Health System website, www.butlerhealthsystem.org. Vaccinations can be scheduled via the website and walk-ins will be accepted.

The CDC studied data and determined that people with weakened immune systems don't receive the same robust immune response from two vaccine doses as people with normal immune systems, said Dr. John Love, BHS medical director of infectious diseases.

“For people with an immunocompromising condition or who are taking an immunocompromising drug, the vaccine is a three-shot series instead of two,” Love said. “This really has to do with trying to get these patients the level of protection that is as close to other people as possible.”

The third shot has to be administered at least four weeks after the second shot, he said.

People who are uncertain about whether they qualify for a third dose should consult their doctors, he said.

Love said the third dose for immunocompromised patients should not be confused with booster shots for people with normal immunity who have already received two doses. The CDC and FDA are expected to issue guidance for boosters in the next few days, he said.

Vaccinations are being mandated in New York; Washington, D.C.; and by some employers, and Love said he believes vaccine mandates will increase.

The FDA is expected to fully approve the Pfizer vaccine and that could trigger more vaccine mandates, he said.

Love said he doesn't know if FDA approval will be enough to sway people who have decided not to get vaccinated because they don't believe the vaccine was fully tested and wonder about the long-term effects of the vaccine.

“I don't know if that's genuine or just an excuse,” he said. “I don't know if it will change minds. A hundred million or more are vaccinated. We have good data.”

FDA approval would create the legal groundwork needed for employers to mandate the vaccine, Love said.