The US Food and Drug Administration authorized Pfizer-BioNTech's and Moderna's bivalent (two-component) vaccine boosters. And while the rate of people dying or being hospitalized from COVID-19 is markedly better than earlier points in the pandemic, an average of more than 400 deaths per day are still being reported in the US this month.īut questions on the new vaccines remain: Who can get one? When should they get it, and can they get the flu shot at the same time? While the original vaccines still offer protection against severe disease, infection protection from the vaccines has waned significantly from when they first rolled out as the virus continues to mutate. These new vaccines, which are just one booster of Pfizer's or Moderna's updated formulas, were created to be a defense against COVID-19 this fall and winter when many people will be spending time indoors, cozying up and sharing air with others. Updated vaccines that target the newest versions of COVID-19, BA.4 and BA.5, are now available - probably at a site within five miles of you.

People age 12 and older are eligible for one. Shots are available throughout the country. The new formulas target BA.5, which is responsible for most current COVID-19 cases. The older vaccine formulas are still effective at preventing severe disease, but the mutating virus has whittled some of that protection away. New boosters from Pfizer and Moderna that target the newest strains of the omicron variant have arrived.

Zoom care booster shots