COVID-19 Vaccine Bivalent Boosters

COVID-19 Bivalent for 12+ Now Available at SWPH

12 + are eligible for the Omicron-targeting bivalent booster.

  • 12+ who completed a primary series of COVID-19 vaccine (2 doses; 3 doses for those who had immunocompromising conditions) are eligible.

  • Recommended interval of 6 months after completing the primary series. Minimum of 3 months.

  • Recommended interval of 6 months after a COVID-19 infection. Minimum of 3 months.

“As a general guide, if it has been six months or longer since your last COVID-19 dose, it is time to get a booster,” says Dr. Ninh Tran, Medical Officer of Health at Southwestern Public Health. He also notes that some individuals – particularly those who are aged 65 and older, immunocompromised, or have another risk factor for COVID-19 – are recommended to receive their booster at a three-month interval.

Individuals must have already received their primary series – meaning, their first and second, and in some individuals their third dose – before being eligible for a booster vaccine. Children under the age of 12 are not yet approved to receive a bivalent booster.

“We are seeing a sharp increase in people being admitted to hospital due to COVID-19 complications, and we are on the cusp of cold and flu season in general. Please give yourself and your family the extra protection that a booster provides. We want to see everyone do all that they can to stay healthy and out of the hospital this respiratory season,” says Dr. Tran.

The COVID-19 bivalent vaccine provides protection against two COVID-19 variants: the original strain, and Omicron. It does not protect against other respiratory illnesses, such as influenza. Only the flu shot can protect against influenza.

Appointments are required.

Book online at covid-19.ontario.ca/book-vaccine, or call the Provincial Vaccine Contact Centre at 1-833-943-3900.

Or check with your pharmacy to see if they continue to administer the vaccine

***Eligible residents in Elgin County, Oxford County, and the City of St. Thomas advised to seek a COVID-19 bivalent vaccine booster and a flu shot to protect against respiratory illness this fall

Connie Robinson