Updated Boosters Available for Everyone Ages 12+

On September 1, CDC recommended that everyone ages 12 years and older in the United States receive an updated COVID-19 booster before a possible surge in COVID-19 illnesses later this fall and winter. Like the original boosters, the updated doses help restore protection that might have gone down since your last dose—but they also give extra protection for yourself and those around you against the most recent variants. 

The updated booster is a bivalent vaccine because it targets two Omicron subvariants: BA.4 and B.5. These newest subvariants are more contagious and able to evade protection that your body might have against earlier subvariants. Data suggest that the updated boosters also increase our immune response, which will help protect us against future variants.

Being up to date with COVID-19 vaccines is the best way to protect against severe illness, hospitalization, and death associated with COVID-19. Everyone who is eligible?including those who are moderately to severely immunocompromised?is recommended to receive one dose of the updated bivalent booster at least two months after their last dose (either the final primary series or the last booster). The Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine, Bivalent is authorized for use as single booster dose in people ages 18 years and older. The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine, Bivalent is authorized for use as a single booster dose in people ages 12 years and older. To find a vaccine provider near you, visit vaccines.gov.