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Ciara Wells | ciara.wells@wtop.com
December 15, 2022, 6:35 AM
Children as young as 6-months-old are now eligible to receive the COVID-19 bivalent booster vaccine in D.C. and Virginia.
Health departments in both jurisdictions Wednesday announced the availability of the vaccines.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and DC Health are encouraging residents to be up-to-date on their COVID-19 and flu vaccinations and boosters, in order to protect their friends and family this holiday season as case counts continue to rise.
The Virginia Department of Health also is encouraging the vaccinations.
The bivalent booster vaccine protects against COVID-19 and the new, more contagious variants.
The free bivalent vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna have slightly different requirements.
Both the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 bivalent boosters are available to infants six months and older.
According to the Virginia Department of Health:
The Pfizer-BioNTech bivalent vaccine, previously available only to persons aged five years and older, is now available for children aged six months through four years as a third primary series dose. At this time, children aged 6 months through four years who received three doses of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine to complete their primary series are not authorized to receive a booster dose of bivalent vaccine. The Moderna bivalent vaccine, previously available for persons aged six years and older, is now available for children aged six months through five years as a booster dose at least two months after completion of a Moderna primary series.”
D.C.-area doctors and other medical professionals recommend keeping up to date with your vaccinations and boosters to protect not just yourself, but your loved ones.
Here are ways to get a COVID-19 booster and flu vaccines in the D.C. and Virginia:
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Ciara Wells is a freelance digital writer/editor at WTOP. She is a recent graduate of American University where she studied journalism and Spanish. Before joining WTOP, she was the opinion team editor at a student publication and a content specialist at an HBCU in Detroit.
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