Updated COVID-19 booster shot appointments delayed in Wake County

WAKE COUNTY, N.C. (WTVD) -- Updated booster shots for COVID-19 will soon be available in Wake County.

Appointments will open Wednesday afternoon, according to Leah Holdren with Wake County Communications Office.

Holdren said the county received their Moderna shipment of the new boosters after a small delay. The Pfizer vaccine came in late yesterday and health officials are working to get those delivered to vaccine clinic locations. Appointments for the new boosters will open at 5 p.m with openings as early as Thursday.

The Pfizer booster is available for people 12 years and older and the Moderna booster is for people over the age of 18.

The single dose booster is designed to target the omicron subvariant BA4 and BA5 as well as the original strain.

According to the Department of Health and Human Services, 89% of vaccinated people, 65 years and older, already have their first booster shot.

For those 18-years-old, that number is 63%.

Medical leaders say the key is to make sure you're at least two months our from your last COVID vaccine.

Many of the local CVS and Walgreens began giving the shots on Tuesday.