Explainer: Understanding the New Bivalent COVID-19 Booster for Children and Adults
Over Labor Day weekend, updated bivalent COVID-19 boosters became available for people ages 12 and over, and earlier this month, the FDA approved booster doses for children as young as five years. The CDC recommends everyone stay up to date with their doses based on their age bracket, when they received their first Covid vaccine, the length of time since their last dose, and whether they are immunocompromised.
Here’s what you need to know:
What is the new booster for?
The updated booster helps protect against both the original virus that caused COVID-19 as well as Omicron variants BA.4 and BA.5, which is why it’s known as a “bivalent” booster. Subvariants BA.4 and BA.5 are the most contagious versions of SARS-CoV-2 to date, with BA.5 accounting for nearly 80% of cases in the United States.
Where can I get one?
You can get the new booster at any pharmacy, clinic or medical facility near you by searching for the “newly authorized bivalent” boosters for children and adults.
When should I get the new booster?
Per CDC recommendations, you should wait at least two months after your most recent COVID-19 vaccine to get the new booster. Some health experts are recommending waiting six months before getting the new booster.
How does this booster work?
The new booster is bivalent, which means it contains two messenger RNA (mRNA) components of the coronavirus. It’s designed in such a way that half the vaccine targets the original strain, while the other half targets the BA.4 and BA.5 variants.
Is the new booster safe?
The new boosters were authorized by regulators based on data on safety and effectiveness from the original COVID-19 mRNA vaccines, as well as data from human trials by Pfizer and Moderna aimed at a previous version of Omicron, BA.1.
Although human trials of the booster have been tested on adults, results are not expected until November this year. The new formulation has been tested on mice, however, and the results from that were taken into account for making the booster publicly available.
If you recently had COVID-19, you may want to wait three months from the date your symptoms started or, if asymptomatic, when you received a positive test, to get the booster.
To book an appointment, you can use Vaccines.gov to find a location near you offering the booster. Most pharmacies like CVS and Walgreens are offering the new booster shot, although CVS cautioned that appointments for children aged 5 - 11 may be limited.
Got false information you want to share with us or something to fact-check?
References and Further Reading:
Reuters. U.S. authorizes updated COVID booster shots for children as young as 5. 12 October 2022.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Stay Up to Date with COVID-19 Vaccines Including Boosters. 1 November 2022.
Carrie Macmillan. Yale Medicine. The Omicron Booster: Your Questions Answered. 12 October 2022.
Darlene Superville and Josh Boak. AP News. Biden gets updated COVID-19 booster shot, promotes vaccine. 25 October 2022.
