The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued an Emergency Use Authorization for bivalent COVID-19 vaccine for booster doses, and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) said vaccine providers throughout Michigan are prepared to begin administering booster shots now.
The bivalent booster helps fight both the original strain of the COVID-19 virus and Omicron variants BA.4 and BA.5. It’s recommended that individuals 12 years old or order receive the bivalent booster if they have completed their primary series of the COVID-19 vaccine, and they can receive the bivalent booster even if they have previously received a monovalent booster.
The FDA has removed the Emergency Use Authorization on the monovalent boosters, and they are no longer available for administration.
According to MDHHS, individuals are eligible to receive a single bivalent booster:
- If they are 18 or older, and it has been at least two months since they completed primary vaccination or received the most recent booster dose with any authorized or approved monovalent COVID-19 vaccine.
- If they are 12 or older, and it has been at least two months since they completed primary vaccination or received the most recent booster dose with any authorized or approved monovalent COVID-19 vaccine.
Influenza vaccines are also available now, and can be administered at the same time as the COVID-19 booster.
For more information, visit https://www.michigan.gov/coronavirus/resources/covid-19-vaccine
