The Pfizer vaccine for COVID-19. Photo: Lisa Ferdinando, DoD

SUMMIT COUNTY, Utah — The Summit County Health Department announced they would start administering Pfizer bivalent boosters on September 6 and Moderna bivalent boosters on September 7. This follows the approval by the CDC and Food and Drug Administration granting Emergency Use Authorization to Pfizer and Modern bivalent boosters. The booster vaccine is termed bivalent as it will target the original strain and omicron BA.4 and Ba.5 sub-variants of COVID-19.

Individuals who have completed the primary vaccination series (two doses of Pfizer or Moderna or one dose of Johnson and Johnson) will be eligible to receive the bivalent booster. To be eligible,, individuals must have at least two months from receiving the final dose of any vaccine. Novovax vaccine recipients are not eligible for the booster at this time.

The Pfizer bivalent booster will be available for those 12 years or older, while Moderna’s is available for those 18 years or older. Either booster can be administered to an individual regardless of which primary series vaccine they received. For those under age 12, authorization is expected to be approved in the near future.