Summit County Public Health is hosting two drive-thru clinics for the new bivalent COVID-19 boosters from Pfizer and Moderna this week.
The clinics are Wednesday and Thursday, both from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., at Summit County Public Health, 1867 W. Market St., Akron. To schedule an appointment for Wednesday, visit scph.link/covidsep07. To schedule an appointment for Thursday, visit scph.link/covidsep08. Those without computer access can call the health department’s call center at 330-926-5795 to register.
Appointments are required for both clinics, and no walk-ins will be accepted. Masks are required at all of the health department’s vaccination clinics.
Which strains of the COVID does new booster cover?
According to Summit County Public Health, the Pfizer and Moderna bivalent boosters both target two strains of COVID-19: the original strain of the virus and two of the Omicron variants (BA.4 and BA.5), the current most widespread variants in the world.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “the updated COVID-19 boosters add Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 spike protein components to the current vaccine composition, helping to restore protection that has waned since previous vaccination by targeting variants that are more transmissible and immune-evading.”
Based on guidance from the CDC, Summit County Public Health will offer Pfizer and Moderna bivalent booster doses two or more months after the date of the most recent or last booster dose or the completion of a person’s primary series.
Who can get the new COVID booster?
The Pfizer bivalent booster is authorized for people 12 and older, while the Moderna bivalent booster is authorized for people 18 and older. Both are authorized as a single booster dose administered at least two months after either completion of primary vaccination with any authorized or approved monovalent COVID-19 vaccine or receipt of the most recent booster dose with any authorized or approved monovalent COVID-19 vaccine.
Moderna or Pfizer: Does it matter which COVID booster I get?
People can get either the Pfizer or Moderna bivalent booster, regardless of which primary series vaccine or originalbooster dose they previously received.
Summit County Public Health said that only people who have completed their primary vaccination series (two doses of Pfizer or Moderna or one dose of Johnson & Johnson) are eligible to receive the bivalent booster. People who received Novovax are not yet eligible for any booster.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Aug. 31 granted emergency use authorization to Pfizer and Moderna for their new bivalent boosters, with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle Walensky on Sept. 1 endorsing the CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices’ recommendations for the use of the boosters. Those steps were required to allow the boosters to start going in people’s arms.
Are there side effects with the new COVID booster?
According to the FDA, the most commonly reported side effects from the bivalent boosters include pain, redness and swelling at the injection site, fatigue, headache, muscle pain, joint pain, chills, swelling of the lymph nodes in the same arm of the injection, nausea/vomiting and fever.
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When can my child get the new COVID booster?
According to Summit County Public Health, authorization for administration of the bivalent boosters to those under age 12 is expected in the near future, but the timeline is not yet clear. The health department encouraged parents to have their children complete the primary series of the current vaccines so that they will be eligible for the bivalent booster in the future.
The FDA said that the use of the previously used monovalent Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines for booster administration for people 18 and older and 12 and older, respectively, is no longer authorized.
The FDA said that the monovalent vaccines can be used for administration of a primary series for people 6 months and older. The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine is still able to be used for a single booster dose only for people 5 through 11 years old at least five months after completing a primary series of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.
Summit County Public Health said it is currently administering the bivalent vaccine as its only booster option at this time.
For more information, scph.org/covid/vaccine. For questions, call the COVID-19 call line at 330-926-5795. from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays through Fridays.
For more information on the safety and efficacy of the bivalent vaccines, visit tinyurl.com/bivalentboosters.
Contact Beacon Journal reporter Emily Mills at emills@thebeaconjournal.com and on Twitter @EmilyMills818.
