COVID-19 booster shots temporarily on hold until new booster shots arrive in Sonoma County

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The administration of COVID-19 booster shots is temporarily on hold in Sonoma County pending delivery of new updated boosters formulated to target the omicron variant. The California Department of Public Health on Wednesday advised providers to discontinue administering the original boosters after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized the new booster formula for people 12 and older and removed the authorization for the original vaccine for booster doses for the same age range.

Advisors to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are meeting this week to provide recommendations on the new doses. After the boosters obtain all regulatory approvals, Sonoma County expects to receive the new vaccine starting next week. Booster appointments and walk-in clinics will be rescheduled once doses of the new vaccine arrive.

“We want to make sure that everyone has the most up-to-date protection against COVID-19,” said Dr. Sundari Mase, Sonoma County’s health officer. “I urge anyone who is eligible to get the new boosters once they are available. This is our best tool to keep the community safe through the fall and winter.”

The new boosters, known as bivalent vaccines, are made by Pfizer and Moderna. The Pfizer bivalent booster is for anyone 12 and older and the Moderna bivalent booster is 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 an approved 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.

Once they arrive in Sonoma County, the new boosters will be available 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.

A list of vaccine clinics in Sonoma County is available at SoCoEmergency.org/vaccine. Appointments can also be made through  MyTurn.ca.gov.

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Media Contact: 
Matt Brown, Communication Specialist
Matt.Brown@Sonoma-County.org
(707) 565-3040
575 Administration Drive, Suite 104A
Santa Rosa, CA 95403