Boone County Public Health Urges Everyone to Get a COVID-19 Bivalent Vaccine Booster
The virus that causes COVID-19 changes over time. Keep your protection up to date by getting an updated COVID-19 vaccine booster. The updated COVID-19 vaccine boosters include components of the original virus strain and the Omicron variant. This is called a bivalent COVID-19 vaccine. The updated vaccine boosters are designed to give you broad protection against COVID-19, including better protection against the Omicron variant.
COVID-19 vaccines can help protect against severe illness, hospitalization, and death from COVID-19. As the virus changes and your immunity naturally decreases over time, you may lose some of that protection.
The FDA authorized bivalent formulations of the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines for use as a single booster dose at least two months after completing primary or booster vaccination.
Eligibility for a booster depends on your age, when you finished your primary vaccination, and when you received your most recent booster dose of a monovalent COVID-19 vaccine.
A single booster dose with an updated bivalent COVID-19 vaccine is designed to provide broad protection against COVID-19 and better protection against COVID-19 caused by the currently circulating Omicron variant.
If you are eligible for an updated COVID-19 vaccine booster, the updated booster you receive does not need to be from the same manufacturer that made the vaccine you received for your primary vaccination or previous booster.
To schedule your COVID booster, call Boone County Public Health at (515) 432-1127, or check with your local Pharmacy to see if they have the vaccine available. Bring your COVID vaccine card with you to your appointment.
The above information was provided by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration)