Want the new COVID-19 omicron booster? You can get it in Boise area now. What to know

For Idahoans who have received their initial round of COVID-19 vaccines, the omicron-targeting booster is here.

Where can you get it? The same places you usually get your annual flu shot. Major pharmacy chains such as Walgreens, CVS, Rite Aid and Albertsons pharmacies are booking appointments and administering the booster dose. Same-day appointments are available.

But for now, brand-name options may be limited. Some pharmacies last week showed only appointments for Pfizer’s booster. Rite Aid showed limited openings for the other mRNA booster, made by Moderna. Pfizer has been first to ship its doses to pharmacies and health care providers ever since the first round of COVID-19 vaccines went out in December 2020.

That pharmacies are dominating the rollout isn’t the only similarity between the COVID-19 booster and flu shots. Every year, scientists develop an influenza vaccine based on predictions about which strains of flu virus will circulate in the U.S. in the upcoming flu season. The new, updated version of the COVID-19 vaccine targets the original coronavirus as well as the version now circulating. Scientists hope the “bivalent” booster shot will remain effective as the omicron variant continues to morph in small ways.

No vaccines are 100% effective. The COVID-19 shots have been most successful when it comes to preventing severe disease, hospitalization and death.

Health experts recommend getting the annual flu shot this fall — ideally, before Halloween. It can be administered at the same time as the COVID-19 vaccine.