What to Know About the New COVID-19 Booster That Targets the Omicron Variant

A new COVID-19 vaccine booster shot is available at U.S. pharmacies and clinics.

Earlier this week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized updated shots from both Moderna and Pfizer that target both the highly-contagious Omicron variant of COVID-19 and the original coronavirus strain.

The new formula marks the first update to the vaccine since the original shots were rolled out during the height of the pandemic in December 2020. Here’s what to know about the updated vaccines.

When will the new boosters be available to the public?

Appointments for the vaccines are already being scheduled in some cities, with the full rollout expected in the coming days.

On Thursday, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, paved the way for immediate distribution of the updated vaccine by approving recommendations of the agency’s advisory panel.

The updated vaccines will be free and available at pharmacies, doctors’ offices and community health centers.

Who is eligible for the new boosters?

People aged 12 and up get the updated Pfizer booster, while people aged 18 and older can get the Pfizer or Moderna booster, according to the CDC.

The CDC suggest Americans wait at least two months from their last COVID shot to receive the new booster.

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“The updated COVID-19 boosters are formulated to better protect against the most recently circulating COVID-19 variant. They can help restore protection that has waned since previous vaccination and were designed to provide broader protection against newer variants,” Walensky said in a statement.

She continued, “This recommendation followed a comprehensive scientific evaluation and robust scientific discussion. If you are eligible, there is no bad time to get your COVID-19 booster and I strongly encourage you to receive it.”

How are the new boosters different?

The new shots are being referred to as “updated boosters” by the FDA and contain “two messenger RNA (mRNA) components of SARS-CoV-2 virus, one of the original strain of SARS-CoV-2 and the other one in common between the BA.4 and BA.5 lineages of the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2.”

Will the new Omicron-specific booster replace the previous shots?

The new booster shots — which are bivalent — target the Omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5, in addition to the original COVID strain.

The FDA said it no longer authorizes the original mRNA COVID-19 vaccines as booster shots. People who have not yet received their first doses of the vaccine will still receive the original formulation from 2020.