The Louisiana Department of Health is recommending individuals who are 12 and older and fully vaccinated against COVID, get the newest booster that’s formulated for the Omicron variant. LDH Deputy Director Glennis Gray said this booster offers prolonged protection against the original strain of COVID…
“And it also offers better protection for the two lineages of the Omicron variant, and that’s the BA.4 and the BA.5,” said Gray.
The updated booster should be widely available in the coming days. Gray said you can have the new booster as soon as two months after your last vaccine dose. The Moderna booster is for ages 18 and older and the Pfizer booster is for ages 12 and up.
“You can do mix and match of this booster, so say if you got Pfizer and only Moderna is being offered you can do a mix and match with that, as long as you meet those age guidelines,” said Gray.
Health officials say there’s supporting data that the booster provides additional protection against the current circulating variant and Gray said if you’ve recently recovered from COVID you should also have the updated booster.
“So, if you had COVID, you had mild symptoms, or a fever or something like that as long as you’re fever free you should be able to get your booster,” said Gray.
The CDC and the FDA are also recommending the use of the updated booster. Be sure to call ahead to make sure your healthcare provider has the newest booster in stock.
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