Bivalent Booster Shots Now Available in the Coastal Health District

The Coastal Health District is now offering stronger protection against COVID-19. All eight county health departments will offer updated booster shots.

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According to the Georgia Department of Public Health, these reformulated booster vaccines target the original strain of the COVID-19 virus plus the omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5.

“It’s not uncommon for vaccines to be tweaked as viruses mutate,” said Dr. Lawton Davis, Health Director of the Coastal Health District. “You don’ get the same flu shot every fall because the vaccine is redesigned each year to be a better match to the dominant variants. These reformulated COVID boosters follow the same progression, with better protection against the COVID we have now, and not just the COVID of two years ago.”

The Coastal Health District says that most new cases reported in Georgia are caused by the BA.5 variant. The redesigned boosters are called “bivalent” because they target more than one variant of COVID.

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The bivalent booster by Pfizer is authorized for ages 12 and older, and the bivalent booster by Moderna is for ages 18 and up. You can get the booster if it has been at least two months since you completed your initial vaccination or since your last booster shot.

Appointments for COVID-19 vaccination, including bivalent boosters, can be scheduled online at chdcovidvax.org by calling your local county health department.