For the vast majority of the pandemic, until early September, vaccines against COVID-19 targeted the original coronavirus strain, even as very different mutants emerged. Vaccines continued to show effective protection, even for different strains, and now experts hope that newer shots can go even further and offer additional protection.
Known as “bivalent” vaccines, the updated doses contain half the original vaccine recipe and half the protection against the newer versions of omicron, BA.4 and BA.5.
Since the beginning of the month, about 1.5 percent of those eligible for an updated booster have done so, a figure an infectious disease specialist called “demoralizing.”
“I would expect a much higher proportion of Americans to have gotten the booster by now,” Dr. Scott Roberts of Yale Medicine told NBC News.
As the fall season begins and cooler weather sets in, health officials are calling for reinforcements to prevent another possible surge.
“”The colder weather is coming and residents are starting to move indoors, which is traditionally when we see rates of respiratory viruses rise. Please don’t wait to get vaccinated this year. Act now to protect yourself, your family, and our entire city. ,” said Dr. Allison Arwady, commissioner of the Chicago Department of Public Health, in a press release Friday.
If you’re planning to get your last shot or aren’t sure, here’s what you need to know, including possible side effects, where the shots are offered, and who should get them.
What are the possible side effects?
The side effects caused by the boosters may not be that different from the last dose.
“We just don’t have data on that [yet]essentially giving two vaccines at once, but biologically, I wouldn’t expect the side effects, severity or safety profile of the injections to be any different than the current mRNA vaccines and boosters,” said Dr. Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and a member of an independent advisory panel to the US Food and Drug Administration, he told CNBC’s Make It.
The Food and Drug Administration states that those receiving the bivalent vaccine “may experience side effects commonly reported by people receiving licensed or approved monovalent COVID-19 mRNA vaccines.”
Side effects reported by study participants included:
- pain, redness or swelling where the injection was given
- fatigue
- headache
- muscle pain
- join the pain
- shivers
- swelling of the lymph nodes in the arm where the injection was given
- nausea or vomiting
- fever
Side effects were similar for both the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines and largely mirrored the expected side effects for previous doses.
The CDC stated that side effects with the third injection were also “similar to those in the two-dose series.”
The most common symptoms included fatigue and pain at the injection site, but “most symptoms were mild to moderate.”
As with previous doses of the vaccine, the CDC notes that “serious side effects are rare but can occur.”
Who is eligible?
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, only those who have completed a full series of COVID vaccines, which consists of two injections from Moderna or Pfizer, or one from Johnson & Johnson, are eligible. Additionally, the features have certain age restrictions, which are listed below:
- People 18 years of age or older are eligible to receive the updated COVID-19 booster vaccine from Pfizer or Moderna
- Pfizer booster doses can only be given to people aged 12 to 17 years
- While those under 18 are eligible for the new COVID booster, they are not eligible for the Moderna dose
Where can I go to get the updated Booster?
Walgreens and CVS are among those offering updated booster shots, along with other retail chains. Walgreens encourages anyone who is eligible to schedule an appointment using the Walgreens app, by calling 1-800-WALGREENS or online. Walk-in access is allowed, although an appointment is preferred.
CVS also encourages those interested to schedule appointments online, according to a press release about the launch earlier this month. At the time, CVS stated that the initial supply of the updated drivers was limited.
Will children be eligible soon?
Moderna announced Friday that it has asked the FDA to authorize its booster for children, explaining that it filed two separate requests for authorization: one for children ages 12 to 17 and one for children ages 6 to 11 years
This week, the CDC said it expects to recommend updated boosters for children in early to mid-October. Pfizer has told a CDC advisory committee that it plans to ask the FDA to authorize boosters for children ages 5 to 11 in early October.
The new COVID vaccines designed to specifically target the omicron variant and its highly contagious subvariants have many questions, including some who wonder if they can still get the updated booster even if they already had a booster vaccine?
Can you mix and match your booster shot?
Although the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention does not recommend mixing products for primary series doses, boosters can be mixed.
Here are the CDC’s instructions on mixing and matching the boosters, depending on which shots you’ve already received.
- People 18 and older can get a different product for a booster than they got for their main line, as long as it’s Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna.
- Teens ages 12-17 can get a different product for a booster than they got for their main line, as long as it’s Pfizer-BioNTech.
- Children 5 to 11 years of age who have received a Pfizer-BioNTech primary series should also receive Pfizer-BioNTech as a booster.
- People 12 years of age and older can only receive the updated (bivalent) mRNA booster (Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna). They can no longer get an original (monovalent) mRNA boost.
- Novavax is not licensed for use as a booster dose at this time.