Sep 7, 2022 3 min read

Southwestern Pennsylvania pharmacies and doctors’ offices are now offering doses of the new “bivalent” COVID booster shots, with more availability expected to open up this week.

Walgreens locations are now booking appointments for the newly approved COVID booster shots that specifically target the highly contagious BA.4 and BA.5 omicron subvariants, the pharmacy said in a release Friday.

“This season, we encourage everyone to stay protected by getting vaccinated with this more targeted updated COVID-19 booster in addition to receiving their flu shot or other routine immunizations in a single visit,” Dr. Anita Patel, vice president of Walgreens’ Pharmacy Services Development, said in the release.

CVS announced Friday, after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued its recommendation for the new vaccine, that some locations are already offering up doses of both Moderna and Pfizer’s updated booster shots.

Appointments are opened up, and several continue to be available for this week.

Many pediatricians, primary care physician offices, and community health centers are now scheduling vaccine appointments.

Local hospitals recommend people contact their pediatrician or primary care physician, pharmacy, or visit www.vaccines.gov. to check availability and schedule an appointment to enhance their immune defenses against the disease.

The CDC last week endorsed the first updated COVID-19 booster shots, after advisers to the CDC voted to recommend the reformulated versions of the Modern and Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines.

“The updated COVID-19 booster shots will help restore protection that may have waned since previous vaccinations and provide added protection against the Omicron variant, including the highly transmissible BA.4 and BA.5 strains,” Acting Health Secretary and Pennsylvania Physician General Dr. Denise Johnson said.

The booster shot isn’t cleared for all ages, and only those who have completed the full COVID vaccine series are eligible.

The CDC recommends that anyone age 12 and older get the new Pfizer-BioNTech boosters, and the updated Moderna COVID-19 vaccine is authorized for anyone 18 and older.

Health officials note that the U.S. is in a better position heading into fall than in the previous two years due to the availability of COVID-19 vaccines, along with antiviral treatments, and immunity from previous infections.

Washington and Fayette counties currently are experiencing a high rate of COVID-19 transmission, while Greene County is experiencing medium community level spread.

According to CDC data, COVID-19 deaths have remained relatively consistent since mid-April, with between 300 and 400 people dying on average each day from the virus.

COVID-19 was the third leading cause of death in the United States from March 2020 to October 2021, and was responsible for one in eight deaths, according to a recent study from the National Cancer Institute. COVID-19 was only surpassed in mortality by heart disease and cancer, which accounted for nearly 1.3 million deaths combined.

Since the start of the pandemic, 1,041,816 Americans have died from the virus.