LVHN Offering Updated COVID-19 Booster Shots Starting Sept. 12

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Lehigh Valley Health Network’s (LVHN) COVID-19 vaccination clinics will offer newly authorized and updated COVID-19 booster vaccines starting Sept. 12 and scheduling is now open.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) granted emergency use authorization last week for updated booster shots manufactured by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna. Both new boosters were developed to better target against COVID-19 omicron variants BA.4 and BA.5, with BA.5 being the strain found in nearly 90% of current COVID-19 cases.

The newest Pfizer-BioNTech booster vaccine is authorized for those 12 and older and the new Moderna booster for those 18 and older for use as a single booster dose at least two months following primary or booster vaccination with the original vaccine formulation. Existing Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines will continue to be used for the initial two-shot vaccination series of those vaccines, but not as boosters, federal officials said.

The new boosters are expected to help mitigate a potential COVID-19 surge this fall. More than 20% of eligible U.S. adults have not received their primary COVID-19 vaccination series.

According to the CDC:

• 77% of Americans 18 and older have received their primary COVID-19 vaccination series.
• Only half of those eligible have received a first booster dose.
• Only 34% of those over 50 received a second booster.
   

The new authorization widens booster availability, replacing the former authorization that allowed second boosters for those over 50. However, that booster used the existing booster formulation and not the newer, updated formulation designed for the current omicron variants.

Since the illness itself provides a significant boost to the immune system, patients who have recently experienced COVID can defer boosters for at least three months following their diagnosis.  

Alex Benjamin, MD, LVHN Chief Infection Control and Prevention Officer, said the U.S. is still seeing 400 COVID-19-related deaths and 5,000 hospitalizations each day. “It remains critical for the unvaccinated to get vaccinated and for eligible people to get boosted,” he said. “LVHN remains committed to partnering with the communities it serves and doing everything it can to help. This pandemic isn’t over, and we have to continue to focus on protection against hospitalization and death.”

Benjamin noted scientific advances have allowed for the safe adaptation of vaccines to meet changing conditions.

Patients who are most likely to experience severe illness are those that should consider boosting at this time. These patients include the elderly, those with compromised immune systems, and those with multiple medical issues that place them at higher risk for severe outcomes and hospitalization related to COVID-19. “As always, we encourage patients to discuss any questions about their personal risk and need for bivalent boosters with their primary care or specialty care physicians or other health care provider,” said Timothy Friel, MD, Chair, Department of Medicine, Infectious Diseases, LVHN.

Scheduling initial COVID-19 shots or boosters is required at LVHN COVID-19 vaccination clinics in Hazleton, Pottsville, East Stroudsburg, Whitehall and Lower Nazareth Township. (Scroll to see location information below.)

Scheduling can be completed through MyLVHN, our patient portal, at MyLVHN.org, with the MyLVHN app, or by calling the COVID-19 hotline at 833-584-6283 (833-LVHN-CVD). The hotline is open Monday – Friday, 8:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.