Vaccinations Available in Portsmouth, NH’s Market Square on Wednesday

People who have not yet gotten their COVID-19 vaccine can do so on Wednesday in Portsmouth's Market Square.

Portsmouth Point of Information Officer Stephanie Seacord said on Tuesday that the van will not be downtown this Wednesday, but the vaccinators will be. They will be using a city van for the clinic.

Vaccinations will be distributed for free every Wednesday until Sept. 15, according to Seacord.

The van will be parked in Market Square between 8 a.m. and 1 p.m. Translation services will be available.

If people want to do just one shot, they have the Johnson & Johnson in addition to Moderna and Pfizer vaccines which require two shots.

"They have all three vaccines, so if you are between the ages of 12 and 18 you can get the Pfizer shots," Seacord said on Aug. 3 of preteens and teens accompanied by a parent.

The first vaccination van clinic held downtown took place on Aug. 4.

Robert Piccirilli, of Portsmouth, is seen above on that day. He had an appointment to get a vaccine elsewhere but figured he would take advantage of the opportunity to get his shot right there in Market Square.

Seacord said during the first clinic 10 people were vaccinated. Last week, that number jumped to 17.

Seacord advised people hoping to get their third, or booster, shot to talk with their doctors first.

At least three Seacoast pharmacy chains had the newly US CDC-approved third dose of the COVID-19 vaccine for those with compromised immune systems available on Saturday.

CDC officials gave their okay for the additional dose of the Moderna and Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines late Thursday after reviewing data that shows some people with moderately to severely compromised immune systems do not always build the same level of immunity compared to people who are not immunocompromised.

CVS and Walgreens announced the third dose availability on their respective websites on Saturday morning. CVS is administering the doses by appointment made on its website while Walgreens is offering the shot for walk-in only. Customers will need to provide proof of receiving the first two doses.

Rite Aid in a statement told Seacoast Current it is also administering the third dose on a walk-in basis and is working on making appointments available online.

The third dose may be administered at least 28 days after the initial two doses.

According to officials at the NH Department of Health and Human Services, 53.8 percent of New Hampshire residents are fully vaccinated.

The NH Department of Health and Human Services launched the Mobile Vaccination Van on July 15, in partnership with ConvenientMD, as a new initiative to increase access to COVID-19 vaccines in New Hampshire.

A total of 1,522,960 vaccine doses have been administered with 45,821 going to out-of-state residents.

New Hampshire has seen 1,395 deaths and 1,680 hospitalizations during the course of the pandemic, according to the most current COVID-19 dashboard.

In the United States, 619,564 people have died from COVID-19, according to officials at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

It is estimated that 72.1 percent of Americans have gotten at least one vaccination.

Contact Managing News Editor Kimberley Haas at Kimberley.Haas@townsquaremedia.com.