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Sep. 9—Moderna, bivalent, booster, covid, covid booster, covid shot, covid vaccine, vaccine
A new COVID-19 vaccine booster that is formulated to protect against currently circulating variants is available beginning this week in Alaska, according to state health officials.
The new shot is for Alaskans 12 and older who are at least two months out from completing their primary two-dose vaccine series or any previous booster shot no matter how many they've received, according to Dr. Joe McLaughlin, Alaska's state epidemiologist.
Called a "bivalent" COVID-19 booster, the new shot will target both the original coronavirus and two highly contagious omicron subvariants — BA.4 and BA.5 — that make up the vast majority of the virus currently circulating in the state.
As the original coronavirus mutated over time, the original vaccine has become less and less effective at preventing infection and symptomatic illness, McLaughlin said in an interview. It has also become less effective at preventing more severe illness, "although it's still quite effective at that," he said.
"This new bivalent vaccine is more specific to the current strains," McLaughlin said. "So the anticipation is that it will be much more effective at not only preventing infection and symptomatic illness, but also at preventing more severe outcomes."
Real-world data on just how much more effective the new bivalent booster shots are compared to the original formulation won't be available for another month or so, McLaughlin said.
Still, he encouraged all Alaskans who are eligible for the booster to consider getting it as a form of added protection, even those who aren't considered higher risk or have already tested positive.
"We're still seeing a lot of breakthrough infections and a lot of repeat infections," he said. "And people who get the breakthrough and the repeat infections are still at risk for longer term consequences of long COVID — persistent cough, persistent fatigue, insomnia, things like that, that can last for months, and in some cases, years."
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The hope is that the new booster can also reduce the number of hospitalizations and deaths caused by the virus, McLaughlin said.
Moderna and Pfizer received emergency use authorizations from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration last week. Moderna's booster is approved for Alaskans 18 and older, and Pfizer's is approved for people 12 and older. Alaskans can choose either company's booster regardless of which one they received previously.