Local area pharmacies, like Walgreens, Publix Pharmacy, CVS Pharmacy and more, as well as the Department of Health in Volusia County are offering the latest COVID-19 booster vaccine meant to combat the omicron variant of the virus.
These new COVID-19 boosters, authorized for administration by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, specifically target the omicron BA.4 and BA.5 variants of COVID-19.
The booster shots are recommended, per the CDC, to anyone who has completed a full regimen — two shots of either the Moderna or Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines, or one shot of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine — of a COVID-19 vaccination. The latest booster is a “bivalent” vaccine, according to the FDA, meaning it includes components of both the original strain of COVID-19 that was first identified in the U.S. in 2020, as well as the omicron strains currently prevalent in the U.S. and locally.
The Pfizer-produced booster shot is available to individuals age 12 and up, while both the Pfizer- and Moderna-produced boosters are available to anyone over the age of 18.
As of Aug. 25, 358,981, or 63 percent, of Volusia County’s eligible population had received at least one shot of a COVID-19 vaccine.
For more information, or to schedule an appointment or a first-time COVID-19 vaccination, visit www.vaccines.gov, or the website for your preferred pharmacy.
To schedule an appointment with the local Department of Health, call 386-274-0509. Vaccinations will be available at the Daytona Beach location, 1845 Holsonback Drive.
