With the federal government giving its approval for updated COVID-19 booster vaccines for use, the state of Texas announced Friday that it is expected to receive the doses of the updated vaccine in the upcoming week.
According to the Texas Department of State Health Services, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has allocated about 900,000 doses of the updated booster that will be shipped to Texas, including 502,500 doses of the Pfizer vaccine and 192,800 doses of the Moderna vaccine to health care providers. In addition, another 200,000 will be available at Walgreens, H-E-B, and Walmart pharmacies.
The updated “bivalent” vaccines are different from earlier versions because they are designed to protect against the original strain of COVID-19 and the Omicron variant, which is responsible for more than 99 percent of the COVID cases in Texas over the past month, TDSHS said in a press release.
According to TDSHS, the updated Pfizer booster is authorized for people at least 12 years old, and the Moderna booster is for people 18 and older. People can get the updated booster as long as it has been at least two months since they completed any primary COVID-19 vaccine series or gotten a previous booster.
Health officials encourage individuals to talk to their health care provider about the best timing for them to get the vaccines.
About 47 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in Texas since they first became available in late 2020. Eighteen million people have been fully vaccinated, and 7.4 million have gotten at least one previous booster.
Walgreens also announced Friday that it will start scheduling appointments for updated Pfizer and Moderna boosters for individuals ages 12 and older.
People interested in scheduling can do so via the Walgreens app, or calling 1(800)-WALGREENS, or online at Walgreens.com/ScheduleVacciner.
