The Delaware Division of Public Health has offered more details on upcoming Covid-19 booster shots.
This week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended that everyone six months and older get an updated Covid-19 vaccine. The vaccine reduces the chances of contracting the virus and lessens the possibillity of complications and “long Covid.”
The number of people in Delaware hospitals with Covid-19 as risen from the 20s to the mid-50s after the Labor Day holiday.
The recommendation follows the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) action approving and authorizing for emergency use updated Covid-19 vaccines from Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna formulated to target currently circulating variants more closely.
Anyone who has yet to receive any Covid-19 vaccinations and those whose last dose of any vaccine was over two months ago may receive the updated doses when they become available in the coming days.
The updated vaccines will soon be available at pharmacies, health care providers, state public health clinics, federally qualified health centers, and other facilities, the department noted.
Vaccination will be available free for everyone through one of three methods. Those covered under most private or government insurance plans can receive the vaccine at various pharmacies or providers throughout the state, with the cost fully covered by insurance.
For those who are uninsured or underinsured, vaccinations will be available at federally qualified health centers, public health clinics, local pharmacies, and certain providers via the State of Delaware’s Immunization Program and at Walgreens, CVS and pharmacies affiliated with the ETrueNorth pharmacy network through the federal government’s Bridge Access Program.
Children who currently participate in the CDC’s Vaccines for Children Program will also be able to receive free Covid-19 updated vaccines where they receive their routine vaccinations. A full listing of vaccine locations will be posted on www.vaccines.gov as they become available.
FDA guidelines
- – Individuals five years and older, regardless of previous vaccinations, are eligible to receive a single dose of an updated mRNA vaccine at least two months after the last dose of any Covid-19 vaccine.
- – Those six months through four years of age who have previously been vaccinated are eligible to receive one or two doses of an updated mRNA vaccine (timing and number of doses to administer depends on the previous Covid-19 vaccine received).
- – Unvaccinated individuals six months through four years of age can receive three doses of the updated authorized Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine or two doses of the updated authorized Moderna vaccine.
