UPDATED: FDA Authorizes Bivalent Covid-19 Boosters
UPDATED – 09/02/22 – The CDC has endorsed new Covid-19 boosters. The boosters had earlier been granted Emergency Use Authorization for both Pfizer and Moderna. Now the CDC has recommended the updated booster from Pfizer for people aged 12 and older and Moderna for people aged 18 and older. It’s expected the CDC will recommend the updated boosters for other pediatric groups in coming weeks. Delaware Public Health has preordered about 17,000 doses of the bivalent booster for DPH clinics and enrolled medical providers – this booster targets the original strain of Covid-19 and two of the Omicron variants.
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New Covid-19 boosters have been granted Emergency Use Authorization to both Pfizer and Moderna. The CDC meets today and tomorrow to determine the specifics as to who should receive the boosters. Delaware Public Health has preordered about 17,000 doses of the bivalent boosters for DPH clinics and enrolled medical providers in addition to the supply being sent directly to pharmacies and Federally Qualified Health Centers. Delivery is expected later this week or early next week with administration potentially beginning soon after Labor Day or the following week.
The bivalent boosters target 2 strains of Covid-19 – the original strain and two of the Omicron variants. Only individuals who have completed their primary vaccination series (two doses of Pfizer or Moderna or one dose of Johnson & Johnson) are eligible to receive the bivalent booster. Those who have recently received Novovax are not yet eligible for any booster at this time.
If you have not been vaccinated or have not completed your primary series, visit de.gov/getmyvaccine for a list of locations offering vaccine. The original formulations of Pfizer, Moderna, J&J and Novovax will continue to be used. Booster doses use reduced amounts of the original vaccines.
Individuals are eligible for the bivalent booster two months since their last primary or booster dose of any vaccine. As of today, the current monovalent booster will not be available to persons 12 and older; the FDA is removing authorization for those boosters to reduce provider confusion for staff administering vaccines.
The Pfizer bivalent booster is currently authorized for ages 12 and older while Moderna’s is currently authorized for 18 years of age and older. Individuals may choose to receive either the Pfizer or Moderna bivalent booster, regardless of which primary series vaccine or original booster dose they had previously.
Authorization for administration to those under age 12 is expected in the near future, but the timeline is not yet clear. Parents are encouraged to have their children complete the primary series of the current vaccines so that they will be eligible for the bivalent booster in the future. In August, while there was a decrease in COVID-related hospitalizations for most adult age groups, hospitalizations for all youth age groups increased, demonstrating the importance of young children becoming fully vaccinated as soon as possible to prevent serious illness, hospitalization, and death. As such, parents of children under 12 should consider having them receive the original booster at this time to increase their defenses against the virus with back to school and other group activities now occurring.
For the latest information on bivalent boosters, visit de.gov/boosters. When locations begin administering the bivalent booster, updated information will be available at de.gov/getmyvaccine on how and where to obtain a booster. Information on all things COVID-19 can be found at the DPH website de.gov/coronavirus. COVID-19 data for Delaware is available at https://myhealthycommunity.dhss.delaware.gov/locations/state.
