By Sept. 9, the WahZhaZhe Health Clinic should have the new Covid-19 vaccine that provides an immune response against the highly contagious omicron variant of the virus.
Most people over 12 years old are eligible to receive the vaccine as long as they are at least two months out from receiving a prior dose of the old vaccine, which has now been phased out. The new bivalent vaccine targets two different antigens – the original coronavirus strain and the omicron – while the old vaccine targeted just the one.
The clinic will have both the Moderna vaccine for people 18 years old and up and the Pfizer vaccine for those 12 and up, said clinic administrator Kirk Shaw.
To schedule a vaccine, call (918) 287-9300.
According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, omicron variants BA.4 and BA.5 are now causing the vast majority of Covid infections in the United States, and both are expected to circulate this fall and winter.
Like the original vaccine, the FDA reports the bivalent one sparks reactions: About 77 percent of the 600 people over 55 years old in a clinical study reported pain at the injection site, 55 percent reported fatigue, 44 percent had headaches and 39 percent had muscle aches. Smaller percentages had joint pain, chills, swelling of lymph nodes, nausea, fever, and localized reactions at the injection site. The effects generally last one or two days.
Bivalent boosters for children under 12 are unavailable because they are still in development.
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