New COVID-19 boosters expected to be available this week to people in North Carolina

People may be able to get a fresh new COVID-19 booster shot as soon as Tuesday.

The new booster is designed to protect against BA.4 and BA.5, which are the most common strains of the virus across the country.

Last week, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended the updated boosters for adults and teenagers.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services said the state has 500,000 COVID-19 boosters that should arrive in the next two weeks.

“[It’s like] peanut butter and jelly. It’s two for one,” said UNC Health Infectious Disease Specialist Dr. David Wohl.

Wohl said the new booster due out this week has bonus ingredients to fight COVID-19.

“The cherry on top there is a component that helps your body fight of BA.5,” Wohl said. “It’s the latest flavor of omicron most people getting infected with.”

BA.5 accounts for 84% of cases reported in North Carolina during the past 2 weeks, according to DHHS.

“This is a very super-spreading virus,” Wohl said.

Pfizer and Moderna will offer the shots, which are also known as bivalent vaccines. They are designed to target both the original coronavirus strain and the currently circulating omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5.

Anyone 12 and older is eligible.

“All of us who have not had a booster within last two months should seriously consider getting this,” Wohl said.

Wohl said the new booster should last several months.

“Together, it will protect with variant circulating and whatever comes down the pipe,” Wohl said.

Many people WRAL News talked to are ready to get the new shot as winter season approaches.

“I want to not only protect myself, but everyone else,” said Shirley Varlea, who is fully vaccinated and boosted. “I don’t want someone to get it. I have grandchildren.”

Others are playing a wait-and-see approach.

LaMont King said he was unfamiliar with the rollout of the new booster shot.

“It’s a bit cumbersome thinking about getting a lot of shots, King said.

Wohl believes the new boosters could be a key player in how the rest of the year plays out.

“My hope is that since we have so many people immune to BA.5 because hundreds of thousands are catching it every week and because people are getting vaccinated, especially with this new booster, our community immunity will be such that we will blunt a huge surge,” Wohl said.

Wake County plans to begin allowing residents to schedule their boosters on Wednesday morning with some appointments available on the same day.