Lehigh Valley Health Network is now offering the newest version of the COVID-19 booster shots at its vaccination clinics. WDIY’s Sarit Laschinsky has more.
The health network said the newly-authorized and updated booster vaccines, manufactured by Pfizer and Moderna, were developed to better target against the BA.4 and BA.5 omicron subvariants of COVID-19.
In a release, the network said the new boosters are expected to help mitigate a potential fall COVID-19 surge, and patients most likely to experience severe illness – like the elderly, or those with compromised immune systems - are advised to consider getting boosted.
The new Pfizer booster vaccine is authorized for people aged 12 and older, while the new Moderna booster is for those age 18 and older, for use as a single booster dose at least two months after the initial doses, or a booster vaccine with the original formulation.
LVHN also said patients who have recently had COVID can defer boosters for at least three months following their diagnosis, as the illness can provide a significant immune system boost.
Scheduling is required to get initial COVID-19 shots or boosters at LVHN’s COVID vaccination clinics located in Hazleton, Pottsville, East Stroudsburg, Whitehall and Lower Nazareth Township.
This can be done through the MyLVHN patient portal, the MyLVHN app, or by calling the network’s COVID-19 hotline at 833-584-6283, Monday-Friday between 8:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m.
According to the CDC, around 77% of Americans aged 18 and older have received their primary COVID-19 vaccination series, but only half of those eligible have received a first booster dose, while just 34% of those over age 50 received a second.
(Original air-date: 9/13/22)
