New COVID-19 booster shots available in Sonoma County
FILE - A resident receives a COVID-19 booster shot at a vaccine clinic inside Trinity Evangelic Lutheran Church in Lansdale, Penn., on Tuesday, Apr. 5, 2022. (Hannah Beier/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
SONOMA, Calif. - A new, updated booster shot specifically formulated to protect against the highly contagious COVID-19 omicron variant is now available in Sonoma County.
County health officials said Friday the new boosters, known as bivalent vaccines, are made by Pfizer and Moderna. The Food and Drug Administration has authorized the Pfizer bivalent booster for anyone 12 years and older and the Moderna bivalent booster for anyone 18 and older.
The bivalent boosters can be given two months after completion of the primary series or the most recent booster dose of a monovalent COVID-19 vaccine. The original monovalent vaccines will still be used for the primary vaccine series and booster doses for the 6 month to 11-year age groups.
In Sonoma County, those eligible for the new booster can obtain a shot through primary health care providers, health centers and pharmacies, as well as Sonoma County's vaccine clinic at the Roseland Community Center and the LHI clinic at the Rohnert Park Community Center.
Health officials added supplies may be limited and not all COVID-19 vaccine providers will have doses at first.
Sonoma County health officials expect to receive more supply in the coming weeks.
"The new boosters will provide the best protection against omicron, and I encourage everyone to get one," said Dr. Sundari Mase, Sonoma County's health officer. "The booster doses are very effective at preventing severe illness and can help lower hospitalizations and deaths during the fall and winter when the spread of respiratory viruses is at its peak."
A list of vaccine clinics in Sonoma County is available at SoCoEmergency.org/vaccine.