The new COVID-19 booster is in Tarrant County. Here’s what to know about the vaccine.

COVID-19 booster shots are now available in Tarrant County, and health experts recommend everyone getting the newest vaccine.

Although the COVID-19 pandemic is nearing the three-year mark, the virus continues to mutate, spread, and cause serious illness and death in the U.S. So far in September, COVID’s average daily death toll has hovered between 350 and 400 people a day, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

People who are unvaccinated had five times the risk of dying from COVID-19 in June compared with people who had received at least two doses of the initial COVID-19 vaccine, according to the CDC.

Although the virus continues to infect and change, communities now have a new tool that can help prevent serious illness and death: The first bivalent vaccine, which has a formula that covers two variants.

“The bivalent vaccine protects not only against the original strain, but also against the BA 4 and 5 variants,” said Dr. Robert Atmar, a professor of infectious diseases at Baylor College of Medicine.

I already got a booster shot. Is this one different?

Yes, this vaccine is different than earlier booster doses.

The original COVID-19 vaccines and boosters made by Moderna and Pfizer were known as “monovalent” vaccines, Atmar said, meaning they were designed to protect humans against the original SARS-CoV-2 virus.

But the virus has mutated multiple times since that, with many of the new variants spurring new waves of disease and death. In August 2021, the Delta variant came around; in 2022, the Omicron variant was next.

The bivalent booster is designed with two different “types” of SARS-CoV-2 in mind: the original virus, and the BA4/5 strands, which are the variants that are currently responsible for the majority of infections in the U.S.

Who should get a booster shot?

Everyone should get a booster shot as soon as they are eligible, unless you have a severe allergy to any of the vaccine’s ingredients.

The booster made by Pfizer-BioNTech is approved for anyone 12 or older, as long as they received their last vaccine at least two months ago. The booster made by Moderna is approved for anyone 18 or older, again with at least two months after their last shot.

Tarrant County Public Health Director Vinny Taneja said he believes most pharmacies in Tarrant County have the Pfizer bivalent booster in stock.

But if you’ve recently been vaccinated against or infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus, make sure you’ve waited long enough before getting the bivalent booster.

When should I get a booster shot?

CDC guidelines say that if it has been at least two months since your last COVID-19 vaccine, or since you had a COVID-19 infection, you can get the bivalent booster.

However, some officials recommend waiting a bit longer, up to three months post vaccine or infection, so that you can get more protection.

Where can I get a booster shot?

Bivalent booster shots are available at more than 100 locations through Tarrant County, Taneja said at a commissioners court meeting Tuesday.

You can view the locations of public health clinics and pharmacies that have the bivalent booster dose by visiting the Tarrant County Public Health website. If you have questions about where to find a vaccine, or have trouble accessing the vaccine, contact health reporter Ciara McCarthy at cmccarthy@star-telegram.com or call or text and we’ll get answers to your questions.

Are booster shots free?

Yes, booster shots should be free at most locations regardless of whether you have health insurance or not.

Will there be a seasonal COVID-19 booster shot every year, like the flu shot?

The Biden Administration has indicated that their current plan is to develop and distribute an annual COVID-19 booster shot. But some health experts have noted that there are still several important differences between COVID-19 and the flu that mean we might need more than one annual shot to protect against the SARS-CoV-2 virus and its variants.

Unlike the seasonal flu, SARS-CoV-2 has caused surges of infections at various points throughout the calendar year.