New bivalent COVID-19 booster now available locally

The new bivalent COVID-19 booster shot – designed to protect recipients against multiple variants of COVID-19, including the currently dominant omicron BA.4 and BA.5 variants – is now available at some local physicians’ offices, as well as CVS and Walgreens stores, among other spots. Doses also will be available through the Richmond and Henrico Health Districts beginning Sept. 14.

The new booster from Pfizer is recommended for anyone 12 and older who has had their primary series of COVID-19 vaccines, while the new Moderna version is recommended for those 18 and older who are fully vaccinated. Both boosters earned final federal authorization Sept. 1, and both are free for anyone who is eligible to receive them.

Previous boosters quickly have been phased out of use in favor of the new ones, since as of Aug. 31, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration does not authorize the previous boosters for those 12 and older.

The previous COVID-19 vaccines were made to protect against the original variant of COVID-19. But over time, COVID-19 has mutated to create several new variants, some of which are better at escaping immunity from vaccines and previous infections. Bivalent vaccines combine multiple variants of COVID-19 to offer broader protection against the recent variants.

“Similar to how we update the flu vaccine each year to provide the most protection possible, these tweaks to our existing COVID-19 vaccines will give our communities a safe, effective tool to stay healthy this fall.” said RHHD Deputy Director Melissa Viray.

During a press briefing Tuesday, White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator Ashish Jha said the nation had reached an important milestone.

“For the first time since December of 2020, these vaccines – our vaccines – have caught up with the virus,” Jha said.

In preparation for the arrival of the new boosters, the RHHD is not offering booster shots at its Sept. 7 and 8 COVID-19 vaccination clinics, agency officials said. Walgreens and CVS officials are encouraging people to make reservations online for the new booster shots.

“The elderly and those with significant chronic disease remain at the highest risk of severe illness and hospitalization due to COVID-19,” said Virginia Health Commissioner Colin M. Greene. “Being vaccinated and boosted significantly reduces this risk.”

Lacking the existence of a dramatically different COVID-19 variant, it is increasingly likely that the virus is transitioning into endemic status, during which people would be encouraged to receive an annual vaccine as many do for the flu, according to Anthony Fauci, the chief medical advisor to President Joe Biden. Jha agreed.

“[B]arring those variant curveballs, for a large majority of Americans, we are moving to a point where a single annual COVID shot should provide a high degree of protection against serious illness all year,” he said. “That's an important milestone.

The new boosters should help protect people more than the previous one, Fauci said.

“[W]e fully expect that the updated bivalent vaccines containing BA.4 and BA.5 sequences will offer better protection against currently circulating strains than the original vaccines, although it is difficult to predict at this point how much better that protection will be,” he said.

Jha suggested that people who had been recently infected with COVID wait “a few” months before getting the new booster shot. He also encouraged people to get their boosters and flu shots at the same time.

Some people with higher vulnerability may ultimately require doses of vaccine more often than annually, Fauci said.

“The new bivalent COVID-19 boosters are yet another important tool in our growing COVID-19 toolbox. We’ve seen a bump in COVID-19 cases each fall as temperatures cool and people start to congregate inside, and these new boosters will provide an additional layer of protection,” said RHHD Director Elaine Perry.