Updated September 23, 2022
Click here for up-to-date information on COVID-19 vaccines and Skokie-area vaccine providers.
This fall, everyone who is eligible should get a bivalent COVID-19 booster. And, really, that’s all you need to know: Get a vaccine. Any bivalent vaccine; Moderna or Pfizer. First, the booster will increase an individual’s antibodies, to help prevent infection and transmission. Second, a booster will help your secondary line of defense and help protect you from significant illness or even death. The new Moderna and Pfizer bivalent booster vaccines include the Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 spike protein components, helping to restore protection that has waned since previous vaccinations by targeting the variants being observed in 98% of current COVID cases. Skokie residents curious about whether they are up-to-date on their COVID-19 boosters can visit the CDC website and use a simple tool on that web page, to help answer this question.
CDC recommends everyone stay up to date with COVID-19 vaccination, including all primary series doses and boosters for their age group:
- People ages 6 months through 4 years should get all COVID-19 primary series doses.
- People ages 5 years and older should get all primary series doses, and the booster dose recommended for them by CDC, if eligible.
- People ages 5 years to 11 years are currently recommended to get the original (monovalent) booster.
- People ages 12 years and older are recommended to receive one updated Pfizer or Moderna (bivalent) booster.
- This includes people who have received all primary series doses and people who have previously received one or more original (monovalent) boosters.
- At this time, people aged 12 years to 17 years can only receive the updated Pfizer bivalent booster.
- Getting a COVID-19 vaccine after you recover from COVID-19 infection provides added protection against COVID-19.
- People who are moderately or severely immunocompromised have different recommendations for COVID-19 vaccines, including boosters.
Skokie HHS has a limited supply of the bivalent Moderna booster doses. Click here for more information. Residents are encouraged to visit www.vaccines.gov to find a COVID vaccine clinic also.