The New & Improved Bivalent COVID Vaccine

I have been getting this question a lot at the pharmacy: “When can I get my next bivalent booster?”

The CDC recommendation seems to be confusing people, so let me explain it for you. According to their website, the current recommendation is to complete the initial 2 dose series of either Pfizer or Moderna, followed by a bivalent booster at least 2 months after your previous dose. If you had any boosters between your initial shots and now, the CDC still recommends the bivalent booster. It helps to protect against the omicron strains, which are more contagious than the original strains. Once you have gotten a bivalent booster, you are up to date as of this writing.

This recommendation goes for everyone 5 years old and up, and for children 6 months - 4 years old who received Moderna for their primary series. There currently is no recommendation for the bivalent booster for children 6 months to 4 years old who received Pfizer for their primary series.

Another question I get is: “If I had COVID, when should I get a booster?”

The CDC recommends getting a booster at least 3 months after either: having a positive COVID test, with no symptoms, or the 1st day of having COVID symptoms.

And, as a reminder, you can mix and match the different brands. If you had Johnson & Johnson, Moderna, or Pfizer for your initial series, you can get either Moderna or Pfizer as a booster, as long as it has been 2 months since your previous dose.

Feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions or click here for the CDC recommendations.