COVID 19

Wake County Public Health to offer new COVID-19 booster

Friday, September 2, 2022

Fall COVID-19 boosters could roll out soon

U.S. health officials are preparing to roll out millions of new COVID-19 boosters as health experts grow concerned over a potential viral resurgence in the fall and winter.

A day after the updated COVID-19 booster was recommended, Wake County Public Health (WCPH) said they could start giving shots as early as next week. The news comes after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) panel voted to recommend the shots be given.

Friday, WCPH said they're preparing to offer the boosters which have been updated to fight the current omicron BA.4 and BA.5 variants. Researchers said these are currently the most common variants.

WCPH said they'll offer the Pfizer-BioNTech for people ages 12 years and older and Moderna for people ages 18 years and older. Both the Pfizer and Moderna bivalent vaccine shipments are expected by early next week, the health department said.

Health officials said people can begin scheduling their boosters Wednesday morning, Sept. 7 and they hope to give some booster shots on same day.

Wake County Public Health has five vaccination locations throughout the county, including evening hours.

There are also daily COVID-19 pop-up clinics happening at grocery stores, libraries, churches and community organizations. All locations and hours can be found on their website.

"The boosters are showing how the virus can change and how we are able to adapt and still protect ourselves," said Wake County Public Health Director Rebecca Kaufman. "I urge anyone eligible to get these new boosters. They are our best tool to keep the community safe through the fall and winter."

ABC11 spoke with a Durham pharmacist Thursday who said they've been getting a lot of inquiries about the booster.

"There's been a lot of inquiries about it both from people who have already had their series but want the new bivalent one, or have been waiting on this one to come because they heard about it on the news. So we have gotten a number of inquiries. Phones are ringing, and e-mails are excited about it," said Dr. Jennifer Burch, the owner of Central Pharmacy in Durham.

Please check back for updates on where you can get it and how to make an appointment.

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