New COVID-19 boosters now available across Georgia

ATLANTA — The new bivalent COVID-19 booster is now available across Georgia.

The Department of Public Health says over 65,000 shots of the new vaccine have already been given out.

The new “bivalent” boosters replace the older “monovalent” booster that targeted only the original strain of the coronavirus that arrived in the U.S. in 2020.

“This is the first advancement in the vaccines since we started using them in December of 2020,” Emory University School of Public Health researcher, Jodie Guest, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “This new bivalent vaccine is our first step into what we hoped might be a once-a-year COVID-19 vaccine that you can get at the same time as your flu vaccine.”

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The Pfizer booster is for anyone 12 and older while Moderna’s is for ages 18 and older.

DeKalb County is hosting a vaccination event this weekend, offering $100 prepaid debit cards for anyone who gets their first shot or a booster.

Saturday’s event will run from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the parking lot outside the Mall at Stonecrest.

Anyone 12 years or older is eligible to receive a vaccination or booster. A choice of Pfizer or Moderna will be provided.

Those interested are encouraged to preregister at dekalbcountyga.gov/getvaxxed to minimize their wait time.

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