Bivalent COVID Vaccine – The much-awaited bivalent COVID vaccine has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration of the United States. On the given guidelines, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have also started vaccinating Americans with a similar vaccine.
If you are among those people who want to get vaccinated or want to receive the booster shot, then it is the height for you as the bivalent COVID vaccine is capable of ensuring your safety against currently dominating sub-variants of COVID-19.
Since the first spread of omicron and its variants in the United States, people have been talking about the effectiveness of the COVID vaccine. Back in June 2022, the food and the administration of the United States suggested every vaccine manufacturer in the country work on a variant-specific vaccine, and Pfizer and Moderna have recently received approval for the same.
Approval of Bivalent COVID Vaccine
The Food and Drug Administration of the United States announced on the 31st of August 2022 that they had given its approval to the bivalent COVID vaccine submitted by Pfizer and Moderna.
The whole country was divided into different groups when the Americans first got to know about the effectiveness of the COVID vaccine against omicron and its variants. A huge number of people were against getting any COVID vaccine and its booster shots because it was not effective.
On the other hand, a huge number of people, including health experts around the nation, were suggesting everyone get vaccinated and receive booster shots as early as possible.
Even the Centers for Disease Control and prevention was requesting every American to get vaccinated and receive a booster shot because the previous vaccine was also capable of saving a person from illness.
The current approval of the bivalent COVID vaccine is going to pause every debate in the country regarding the effectiveness of the COVID vaccine and its booster shots. There is only one thing that several health experts did not like about the eligibility criteria.
People have been arguing that the Centers for Disease Control and prevention should make it the 4th or 5th dose of the COVID vaccine, not the third. We will discuss the eligibility criteria for the bivalent COVID vaccine in the below-given sections.
Along with its approval notification, the Food and Drug Administration of the United States mentioned that the bivalent COVID vaccine would add an updated booster in the country. If you are trying to create an appointment for your bivalent COVID vaccine, then kindly make sure you are connecting the updated booster short section.
Now, there will be three different booster shots available for every person who has completed the primary COVID vaccine series. If you do not want to get a bivalent vaccine, then you can select a regular first or second booster shot.
Eligibility of Bivalent COVID Vaccine
Before we talk about the basics of the bivalent COVID vaccine, let’s first take a look at the eligibility criteria. Similar to every other COVID vaccine in the country, the Food and Drug Administration, along with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, have set eligibility criteria for the bivalent COVID vaccine.
If you do not fall within these eligibility criteria, then you are not eligible to receive the COVID vaccine, and your appointment will get rejected at the time of vaccination.
The Food and Drug Administration of the United States has approved two different vaccine manufacturers. The eligibility criteria will also depend on the vaccine manufacturer.
The bivalent COVID vaccine in the United States is a booster shot of the COVID vaccine. It means that people who have already received the primary series of COVID vaccines are eligible to get a bivalent COVID vaccine in the United States after completing two months of their last shot.
- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggest everyone above the age of 12 get Pfizer bivalent COVID vaccine.
- There should be a gap of two months between your last COVID vaccine shot and bivalent COVID booster.
- Everyone above the age of 18 is eligible to receive Moderna bivalent COVID vaccine in the United States.
- It is a booster shot, kindly do not take it as a primary vaccine series.
Kindly do not read the bivalent vaccine as a primary series of COVID vaccines. The Food and Drug Administration of the United States has already made it pretty clear that it is an updated booster shot.
Side Effects of Bivalent COVID Vaccine
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the United States has mentioned on its official website that there are some side effects of bivalent vaccines.
Similar to the primary series and other booster sorts of COVID vaccine, the probability of general side effects of bivalent COVID vaccine is going to be on a higher side as compared to severe side effects.
People who are allergic to any ingredient used in the bivalent COVID vaccine should not get it. At the same time, people who experience severe allergic reactions after taking the primary series of COVID vaccines should also avoid using a valid COVID vaccine also.
The Centers for Disease Control and prevention will leave you might experience below given side effects of the bivalent COVID vaccine, which will include:
- Fever
- Headache
- Chills
- Pain in the arm
- Swelling on the arm
- Fatigue
- Tiredness
There is also a probability that you can get severe side effects of the bivalent COVID vaccine, but the probability is going to be on the lowest side possible. The Bivalent COVID vaccine of Pfizer or Moderna is as safe as the primary series and its booster series.
How to Get the Bivalent COVID Vaccine in the US?
Similar to the primary series and booster series of COVID vaccine, the bivalent COVID vaccine is very easy to get in the United States.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the United States is in partnership with several pharmaceutical companies and independent clinics to vaccinate every American in the country.
You can easily create an appointment for Bible and COVID vaccines using the official website of any pharmaceutical giant such as Walgreens, Rite Aid, and CVS pharmacy. All these pharma giants are in partnership with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to provide free COVID vaccines.
You don’t have to worry about the availability of bivalent COVID vaccine as the Center for Disease Control and Prevention has already made it pretty clear that we have enough supply of the vaccine, and it is available throughout the nation.
If you are not able to find any vaccination site near your neighborhood, then you can use the centralized database, which was launched by the CDC back in 2021.
- Kindly click on the above-given button to reach the centralized database of the COVID vaccine
- As soon as you reach the centralized database currently, enter your zip code, city name, or state name
- Your zip code or state name will help you find all the nearby vaccination sites.
- You can also filter out your results based on the vaccine you are looking for.
As soon as you find a nearby location, kindly contact the location and find out if you need an appointment. Most pharmacies in the United States, such as CVS Pharmacy, Walgreens, and Rite Aid, suggest all visitors create an early appointment.
All about Bivalent COVID Vaccine
Before we wrap up this session, let’s take a quick look at all about bivalent COVID vaccines.
The bivalent COVID vaccine is a variant-specific booster shot of the COVID vaccine. The Food and Drug Administration of the United States asked every vaccine manufacturer in the country to work on variant-specific booster shots.
The currently updated booster shot of the COVID vaccine is going to include the strain of omicron or other sub-variants of COVID-19. Bivalent COVID vaccine can provide you the required protection against currently dominating sub-variants of COVID-19.
The bivalent COVID vaccine is the booster shot of the COVID vaccine, which should be taken after two months of receiving the primary series or booster shot. The recipient of the vaccine can experience some general side effects, so do not worry about anything.
The Food and Drug Administration of the United States mentioned in its statement that a bivalent COVID vaccine would be known as an updated booster shot. Even if you take a look at the appointment process of Walgreens, CVS Pharmacy, or Rite Aid pharmacy, you will see that they have specifically mentioned updated booster shots in the list.
You can easily create an early appointment to get yourself vaccinated with the bivalent COVID vaccine as early as possible. Everyone above the age of 12 in the United States is eligible to receive bivalent copied vaccines, and you should get them.
Can I get a bivalent COVID vaccine without other doses?
The bivalent COVID vaccine is a booster shot. Kindly do not take the bivalent COVID vaccine on its own. The vaccination site holds the right to cancel your appointment if you have not received the primary series of COVID vaccines and you want to get a bivalent COVID vaccine.