By DAVID CAMPHOUSE
According to staff at the Scott County Health Department (SCHD) the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has recently issued new guidance regarding the COVID-19 vaccine/bivalent booster doses.
SCHD’s Meghan VanDeVelde, BSN, RN, said that the new guidance encourages certain populations to receive an additional booster dose of the bivalent vaccine.
According to VanDeVelde and information published by the CDC, people aged 65 years and older may get one additional dose of COVID-19 vaccine, as long as it has been four or more months after the first updated COVID-19 vaccine.
In addition, people who are moderately or severely immunocompromised may get one additional dose of updated COVID-19 vaccine two or more months after the last updated COVID-19 vaccine. Residents are encouraged to talk to their healthcare provider about additional updated doses.
VanDeVelde reassured the public that the additional boosters being encouraged by the CDC are not newly developed vaccines, but that they are the same bivalent vaccines previously available to the public
“In terms of the bivalent boosters, it is the same vaccine as the initial round of bivalent vaccine that came out last fall. It is not a new shot,” VanDeVelde said. “However, the CDC’s most recent guidance just suggests that a couple groups of people could get another dose of the bivalent vaccine.”
VanDeVelde also reminds the public of the CDC’s other guidance regarding COVID-19 vaccines for other populations.
Current COVID-19 guidance from CDC everyone aged 6 years and older should get 1 updated Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine to be up to date.
In addition, children aged 6 months–5 years may need multiple doses of COVID-19 vaccine to be up to date, including at least 1 dose of updated Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, depending on the number of doses they’ve previously received and their age.
COVID-19 vaccine recommendations will be updated as needed.
Contact SCHD for additional information or to schedule a vaccination.
