People may now sign up at Mercy hospitals to receive a new COVID-19 booster vaccine that has been developed to target the Omicron sub-variants, said Jon Lakamp, Mercy’s chief pharmacy officer.
Both Pfizer and Moderna have released one of the new vaccines, and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gave them emergency authorizations on Aug. 31 and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) signed off on the vaccines on Sept. 1.
Those 12 years and older may receive the new Pfizer booster and those 18 and older may get the new Moderna booster.
Lakamp said on Sept. 2 that Mercy hospitals had not received any of the new boosters, but he expected a shipment to arrive around Sept. 6 or Sept. 7, with additional shipments expected the weeks of Sept. 12 and Sept. 19.
“They will be shipping out over the next several days and we'll start seeing product being available and ready to be given sometime in the next week at the earliest,” he said.
Lakamp said the new booster protects people against the original strain of COVID-19 and Omicron sub-variants.
“It's really a modified version of the original formulation so it basically adds protection, kind of similar to what we do with the flu vaccine,” he said. “When you get a flu vaccine today, there's actually four antigens or four components in it. This (new booster) adds a second component to the COVID vaccine that broadens the protection and better matches the variance of the virus that is circulating in the community.”
Lakamp said people who have completed the initial series of two shots are eligible for the new vaccine. However, people must wait two months from the last vaccine or booster they received to get it.
“I strongly encourage them to get this booster as long as it's been two months since their last dose,” he said. “This is a chance to broaden the protection, to more target the protection to the variants that we're seeing in the community.”
He said people may sign up for a dose at mercy.net/movaccine.
County COVID stats
The Jefferson County Health Department reported five new COVID-19-related deaths last week, bringing the county’s total number of deaths related to the virus to 566 since the start of the pandemic.
The latest deaths were a woman in her 30s, a woman in her 50s, two men in their 70s and a man in his 80s.
As of Sept. 2, Jefferson County was in the yellow, or medium, level on the CDC three-color COVID-19 warning system. That was the third consecutive week the county was in the yellow level.
Brianne Zwiener, Jefferson County Health Department public information officer, said she still recommends anyone who is considered high risk for serious illness from the virus to wear a mask in public places. She also said people should wear masks in public if they frequently are around those who are high risk.
Health officials strongly encourage people to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Anyone 6 months and older is eligible for vaccines.
Zwiener said people may visit vaccines.gov for information about where vaccine appointments are available.
