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Redwood City – San Mateo County Health’s community COVID-19 vaccine clinics are temporarily closed and are expected to reopen after September 12 when they will offer the new booster shot.
With the recent Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) authorization of the new bivalent Omicron booster, the current monovalent COVID-19 vaccines are no longer authorized to be used as boosters.
Designed for the original strain of the disease, current COVID-19 vaccines can only be administered as a primary series to individuals who have not received a vaccine. The updated booster shots, from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, offer protection against both the original strain and the Omicron variants, including BA.4 and BA.5, which are currently causing most cases of COVID-19 in the U.S. and are predicted to circulate this fall and winter.
The Pfizer-BioNTech booster is available to individuals 12 and older. The Moderna booster is for individuals 18 and older. Both updated boosters replace previous booster doses and are to be given at least two months following a previous vaccination.
Current COVID-19 vaccines remain widely available. Individuals interested in booking their first vaccination appointments (primary series) should contact their health care provider or a local pharmacy.
County Health’s community vaccination clinics are expected to reopen the week of September 12 and offer the updated boosters as well as original, primary series doses. Updated boosters are also available from major health care providers.
“We are working to make sure residents have access to the new booster shots when they become available and to reopen clinics as soon as possible,” said Lizelle Lirio de Luna, director of Family Health Services.
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