Where to get your COVID booster in the metro-east, plus what to know about the new shot
As flu season rolls around, there’s a second vaccine available at many local pharmacies to protect against infectious disease.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced Aug. 31 it authorized Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech to distribute bivalent COVID-19 booster shots engineered to protect against the omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5, as well as the original coronavirus strain.
But who’s eligible to receive the updated booster, and where can you get it in the metro-east? The News-Democrat spoke with Dr. Vidya Sundareshan from Southern Illinois University Medicine about what differentiates the updated booster from earlier renditions of the vaccine and what people should expect when getting the shot. Here’s what to know.
How effective are the updated shots and who is eligible?
The FDA authorizes Moderna’s updated booster for those 18 and older and Pfizer’s for those 12 and older.
An individual is eligible for the updated vaccine if it’s been “at least two months since they have completed primary vaccination or have received the most recent booster dose with any authorized or approved monovalent COVID-19 vaccine,” the FDA’s website says.
Those who have not received the original vaccine series, either the two-dose Moderna or the Pfizer series or the single Johnson and Johnson shot, should complete the original vaccine regimen before getting the updated booster.
The booster is not approved to be given as a primary series because it contains a much smaller dose than the original vaccines, Sundareshan said.
Health professionals designed the updated booster in hopes to provide more protection against omicron BA.4 and BA.5, the dominant subvariants.
“These bivalent vaccines have two strains of MRNA. One is from the original COVID virus, and then the other strain is the BA.4, 5 MRNA,” Sundareshan said. “It’s a mixture of both, so you’re actually getting neutralizing antibodies for both.”
Federal officials said COVID-19 vaccination may become “more routine” in people’s lives as the virus has demonstrated it can mutate and create a need for updated shots.
“This is definitely one step in making COVID a lot more endemic,” Sundareshan said. “We’ll see how long the neutralizing antibodies actually last and how much time it takes for the virus to change itself and mutate even more.”
Researchers found the updated booster was “very effective” against the virus, Sundareshan said, comparable to the levels of protection the original vaccine provided when it was first released.
People who have recently been infected with COVID-19 should wait about two weeks after their worst symptoms have subsided and any other symptoms are improving before getting their booster shot, Sundareshan said.
If your pharmacy has them available, you can go ahead and schedule your flu shot on the same day as your booster.
You can expect similar side effects as earlier COVID-19 vaccines, Sundareshan said. These can include a sore arm and fatigue for up to roughly 48 hours.
While some noted the updated booster is the first COVID-19 vaccine to be distributed without full results from human trials, Sundareshan said there is adequate safety data for people to feel comfortable receiving the shot.
“FDA does a really thorough job of investigating and making sure that before vaccines are approved or medications are approved, there is enough data on the safety,” Sundareshan said. “We have seen millions and millions of people get the COVID shot, the MRNA shots – the technology is the same.”
Sundareshan added the technology used to develop the updated COVID-19 booster is the same method used to develop flu shots each year.
Where can you get the updated booster in the metro-east?
Several Walgreens locations are offering bivalent booster shots in the metro-east. Appointment availability varies depending on location, but as of Wednesday afternoon the earliest appointments were between Wednesday and Sept. 12.
Here’s a list of the Walgreens locations offering bivalent shots, including which brand they have in stock as of Wednesday afternoon. You can search online for additional Walgreens locations offering the vaccine.
You may be asked for insurance information when you schedule your COVID-19 vaccine or booster, but the booster shot should be free to you regardless of whether you have health insurance.
Moderna
515 Carlyle Ave., Belleville, IL 62221
5939 Belleville Crossing St., Belleville, IL 62226
1108 Hartman Lane, Shiloh, IL 62221
704 Cambridge Blvd., O’Fallon, IL 62269
913 N. Market St., Waterloo, IL 62298
1190 Collinsville Crossing Blvd., Collinsville, IL 62234
Pfizer
2532 N. Illinois St., Swansea, IL 62226
5890 N. Belt W., Belleville, IL 62226
6505 N. Illinois St., Fairview Heights, IL 62208
100 Admiral Weinel Blvd., Columbia, IL 62236
2510 State St., East St. Louis, IL 62205
Where else can you get the updated booster?
You can search vaccines.gov for additional vaccine sites, including local pharmacies. You can also check out CVS’s website for booster availability.
As of Wednesday afternoon, CVS was offering bivalent booster shots at specific locations in Fairview Heights, Collinsville, Columbia and St. Louis. Some locations offer Pfizer shots while others administer Moderna.
This story was originally published September 8, 2022 at 9:09 AM.
