BISMARCK — A recently approved booster vaccine that offers protection against the most common COVID-19 variant will become available in North Dakota and Minnesota as soon as this week.
Last week, federal health officials approved and endorsed a single-dose booster shot that offers protection against the original strain of COVID-19 and the Omicron BA.4/BA.5 strain this is now the predominant variant globally.
The "bivalent" booster shot is approved for people 12 and older who have already received their first series of the COVID-19 vaccine. Recipients of the new booster must be at least two months out from their previous dose of the vaccine.
The original COVID-19 vaccines remain available for young children and those 12 and up who have not received the jab at all.
The North Dakota Department of Health and Human Services announced on Tuesday, Sept. 6, that it ordered 19,900 doses of the new booster from the federal government. The vaccine will become available at over 100 health care providers throughout the state later this week or early next week, according to a news release.
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Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz announced on Friday that vaccination providers in the Twin Cities, Duluth, Rochester and Moorhead would begin offering the bivalent boosters as soon as this week, according to CBS News.
An official from the South Dakota Department of Health confirmed Wednesday the state also has bivalent vaccines.
To locate a vaccination provider in North Dakota, go to https://www.health.nd.gov/covid-vaccine-locator/.
To locate a vaccination provider in Minnesota, go to https://mn.gov/covid19/vaccine/find-vaccine/.
The Trust Project
