Bivalent Pfizer, Moderna COVID-19 Vaccines Booster Shots Now Available in State
To better help fight the Omicron variant of COVID-19, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued an Emergency Use Authorization for bivalent COVID-19 vaccine for booster doses. This was followed by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices’ recommendation for use of the Pfizer bivalent booster vaccine for ages 12 years and older and the Moderna bivalent vaccine for ages 18 years and older.
“This is great news as we go into the fall and winter when we expect cases of COVID-19 to increase,” said Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, MDHHS chief medical executive said in a released statement. “The bivalent booster will help fight the Omicron subvariants, including BA.4 and 5. COVID-19 vaccines remain our best defense against the virus, and we recommend all Michiganders stay up to date.”
The Moderna and Pfizer bivalent boosters target two strains of COVID-19 – the original strain of the virus and the most widely-spread Omicron variants (BA.4 and BA.5). Individuals ages 12 years and older who have completed any FDA-approved or FDA-authorized monovalent primary series (Pfizer, Moderna, Novavax or Johnson & Johnson) or previously received monovalent booster doses are eligible to receive one bivalent (Pfizer or Moderna) COVID-19 booster.
Michiganders can begin getting the bivalent vaccines as they become available. MDHHS has worked with vaccine providers across the state to ensure they were prepared for the arrival of the bivalent COVID-19 booster vaccines. Older formulations of booster doses will no longer be available to persons 12 and older as the FDA has removed authorization for those boosters.
To locate providers offering the Pfizer and Moderna bivalent booster doses check your local pharmacy or visit vaccines.gov, which will be updated with bivalent booster locations soon.
To learn more about the COVID-19 vaccine, visit Michigan.gov/COVIDvaccine.