Bivalent Boosters Available and Encouraged - countynewscenter.com

The County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency is encouraging San Diegans to stay current on their COVID-19 vaccine doses ahead of the upcoming winter months.

The new bivalent boosters were developed to generate an immune response from the original COVID-19 virus, as well as the BA.4 and BA.5 Omicron subvariants.

The Pfizer/BioNTech bivalent booster is available for individuals age 12 and older.

Moderna bivalent boosters are authorized for those age 18 and older, but are currently not readily available in the region as the County is awaiting additional vaccine allocations from the state.

Also eligible for the bivalent booster are those who received at least one shot of the Janssen vaccine, which is no longer widely available.

Anyone who wants to get a bivalent booster must wait at least eight weeks after they received a previous COVID-19 vaccine until they are eligible.

In addition, anyone who is fully vaccinated and recently tested positive for COVID-19, should wait three months after infection to get a bivalent booster.