Following approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, Wake County Public Health is preparing to offer updated COVID-19 boosters for use in children 6 months and older.
Both the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna bivalent vaccine shipments have arrived. Wake County plans to begin allowing parents to schedule their children’s booster appointments on the morning of Friday, Dec. 16.
“Our healthcare system is taking a hard hit with a surge in COVID-19, Flu and RSV cases across our community,” said Wake County Public Health Director Rebecca Kaufman. “These updated boosters can help prevent your little one from getting seriously ill or hospitalized with COVID-19 and ensure our hospitals have pediatric beds available for those who need them.”
The updated COVID-19 boosters add spike protein components from the newer, more common variants, Omicron BA.4 and BA.5, which will help add new protection while also restoring defenses that have waned since previous vaccination.
Children ages 6 months through 5 years who previously completed a Moderna two-dose primary series are eligible to receive a Moderna bivalent booster two months after their first two shots.
The Pfizer vaccine for children ages 6 months through 4 years old is given in three separate doses, so those who have completed their three-shot series will not be eligible for an updated booster dose at this time. Children in that age group who have only received the first two doses can receive a Pfizer bivalent vaccine as their third primary dose.
Wake County Public Health has five vaccination locations throughout the county, several with evening hours. There are also daily COVID-19 pop-up clinics happening at grocery stores, libraries, churches and other community locations. Dates and hours can be found at wakegov.com/vaccine
Staying Updated
Visit Wake County’s multilingual COVID-19 webpage for the latest information on COVID-19. It features a set of frequently asked questions to educate residents, COVID-19 vaccine information, COVID-19 testing locations and the most current data on how the virus is impacting our county.
Also, look for important updates about COVID-19 on Wake County’s Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts.
