Morgan County residents interested in the new bivalent Covid-19 booster shot have multiple chances to get one over the next few months.
Morgan County Health Department Director of Nursing Jacquie Berringer says to come on in during the health department’s regular vaccine schedule time to get the bivalent booster. Berringer says the Health Department is hitting the road with it over the month: “We are also going to be taking the bivalent booster with us over to the Bowl when we go over there for the Flu Bowl on October 6th & 7th. Then, we are also taking it with us when we go to First Christian Church on October 12th for the drive-thru.”
Berringer says there are a few special requirements for the booster, and it’s not for kids: “The booster is for anyone 12 years of age and up, and there has to be at least 2 months between your primary series of the Covid-19 vaccine or your last dose when we give the bivalent booster.”
Berringer says she has not heard of any adverse effects yet with the newly formulated booster: “Of course, this shot is going into the muscle. The bivalent booster is a combination of the original strain and the BA.4 and BA.5 spiked protein that’s the circulating strain that’s going around now. When we give a shot into the muscle, we expect that you will probably have some soreness. We haven’t heard of any adverse events at this point, but we are always watching out for those. If someone thinks that they have had an adverse event [with the bivalent booster], obviously if it’s an emergency go to the hospital. Afterwards, you should call us. We always want to know if there was a problem that was unexpected.”
Vaccine appointments are available at the Morgan County Health Department, located at 425 East State Street, on Mondays from 1:30-5, Tuesday-Friday 8:30-11AM and 1:30-3PM.