BALTIMORE — Thousands of children in our state are headed back to school this week.
With the first week of school, and the cooler weather on its way, comes some renewed concerns over diseases spreading.
New guidance and COVID booster shots are anticipated this fall.
"Being a community pharmacy here - we try to tell people by word of mouth. It’s a small community here which we serve," said Dr. Tarik Syed, head of the Park Avenue Pharmacy in Baltimore's Bolton Hill neighborhood.
"As CDC and FDA recommended - [patients] should keep up with their booster vaccine, so it will help them to stay in school, and we don’t have to experience another pandemic," Syed told WMAR.
COVID-19 cases and hospital numbers are creeping up in Maryland. On the last day of school, June 13th, there were 74 people with the disease in a hospital bed. On August 21st, that number was 189.
The leader of the CDC is already saying most Americans can wait a few weeks for that booster to come out. They'll meet in September to discuss new guidance.
Syed says to talk to your pediatrician because if you want a vaccination for a child, you may be advised to get a booster at a doctor's office instead of a place like a pharmacy.
"We need to make our community understand the importance of it," Syed said. "We need to help each other."
COVID tests have an expiration date. If you have tests on your shelf, you should know some expiration dates were extended.
