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What are the Latest Updates on Bivalent Covid Vaccine |COVID-19|

Bivalent Covid Vaccine – Since the very first day of its launch, COVID vaccines have attracted controversy. COVID vaccine and controversy have a huge history in the United States. First of all, the axing of Johnson and Johnson was limited by the Food and Drug Administration of the United States due to the issue of Severe side effects of blood clotting.

The United States even has a record in deaths caused by blood clotting of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine. Soon after that, the debate on the effectiveness of COVID vaccines started igniting in most parts of the United States. It even became a debate question on several media outlets.

Those people were not wrong, as the Food and Drug Administration of the United States asked vaccine manufacturers to work on a variant-specific booster shot vaccine. Now, that bivalent COVID vaccine is available, and Americans can get that as a booster shot anywhere in the country.

Approval of Bivalent Covid Vaccine

The much-awaited booster shot of COVID-19, known as the violent COVID vaccine, was approved by the Food and Drug Administration of the United States on October 31st, 2022. 

Back in June 2022, the Food and Drug Administration of the United States asked every manufacturer in the country to work on a variant-specific booster shot to ensure the safety of Americans against the currently dominating sub-variants of COVID-19.

Not just the United States but the whole world is struggling against BA4 and BA5 sub-variants of COVID-19. Old vaccines and their booster shots were not as effective as you might think against both of the variants.

That is why there were several debates around the effectiveness of the COVID vaccine in the United States. The Food and Drug Administration of the United States has given its approval to Pfizer and Moderna for its bivalent COVID vaccine booster shots.

People did not believe in the effectiveness of the COVID vaccine as only 50% of Americans got booster shots. On the other hand, only 1/3 of eligible Americans received their second booster shot. The major reason behind disbelief in the effectiveness of the COVID vaccine was its new effectiveness against the currently dominating sub-variants.

Media houses, along with health experts, were debating the effectiveness of the COVID vaccine and its booster shots. All of their concerns were somewhat true. The current approval of the bivalent COVID vaccine is going to clear all those doubts and disbelief.

What is a Bivalent Covid Vaccine?

The bivalent COVID vaccine is a newly launched booster shot of the COVID vaccine. Previous vaccines focused on the original strain of the virus, which was not enough to protect the general public from omicron or any sub-variant of COVID.

Back in June 2022, the Food and Drug Administration in the United States asked every vaccine manufacturer in the country to work on a booster shot that was going to be variant specific. The request from the Food and Drug administration came after a lot of media houses and health experts around the nation started criticizing the FDA and the federal government.

People were talking about the effectiveness of the COVID vaccine and its two booster shots against omicron and its variants. Every health expert in the country, along with independent studies, clearly measured that current vaccines and their booster shots are not able to protect a person from the virus.

Sub-variants of COVID-19, such as BA4 and BA5, are somewhat immune to vaccines and booster shots. With the help of the bivalent COVID vaccine. Centers for Disease control and prevention will be able to contain the spread of these two sub-variants of COVID-19.

Bivalent Covid Vaccine
Bivalent Covid Vaccine

Are there any Side Effects of the Bivalent Covid Vaccine?

After learning about the latest development in the bivalent COVID vaccine, a lot of people have started asking questions such as what are the side effects of the booster shot. At the same time, people are also asking whether it is safe to use or what?

The Food and Drug Administration of the United States believes the bivalent COVID vaccine is completely safe to use, and it is also recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and prevention. For now, Americans don’t have to worry about its safety.

The bivalent COVID vaccine is as safe as regular or booster shots from Moderna or Pfizer vaccine manufacturers. There is some probability that you can get regular effects of the vaccine, but there is no evidence that bivalent COVID vaccines are known to cause severe side effects.

Even if you take a look at the studies, bivalent COVID vaccines by Moderna and Pfizer are known to provide great protection against sub-variants of COVID-19, including BA4 and BA5. 

Lastly, there is a high probability that you might experience symptoms related to any other vaccination process, such as 

  • pain on the site of injection.
  • Fever and chills.
  • Swelling in the arm
  • Headache
  • Muscle pain
  • Tiredness
  • Nausea

Apart from the general side effects of the bivalent COVID vaccine, there is a probability that you might experience some severe side effects. We cannot rule out the possibility, and you should consult with your healthcare provider.

Eligibility to Receive Bivalent Covid Vaccine

Along with the approval, the Food and Drug Administration of the United States has also released the updated eligibility to receive bivalent COVID vaccine in the United States. 

In the United States, the bivalent COVID vaccine is a booster shot which means you have to receive the primary series of COVID vaccines before you get eligible to receive the booster shot.

Along with that, the bivalent COVID vaccine is also eligible for the mix-and-match policy of the federal government. This means people who have received one dose of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine are also eligible to receive the booster shot.

As per the guidelines released by the Centers for Disease Control and prevention of the United States regarding the bivalent COVID vaccine, you are eligible to receive the bivalent COVID vaccine if you follow the below-given guidelines.

  • You must receive a primary vaccination series before you receive the bivalent COVID vaccine.
  • You must maintain at least a two months gap between the bivalent COVID vaccine and the final dose of the primary series or latest booster shot.
  • Everyone above the age of 12 is eligible to receive Bible and COVID vaccines made by Pfizer.
  • People above the age of 18 are also eligible to receive a bivalent COVID vaccine made by Pfizer.

You must treat the bivalent COVID website as a booster shot. Kindly do not take it on its own. Everyone is required to take two short primary COVID vaccine series over one shot COVID vaccine series by Johnson and Johnson.

Where to get a Bivalent Covid Vaccine?

Once you learn about the eligibility and its effectiveness, the next thing you are going to ask yourself is where can I get the new valid COVID vaccine which is more helpful in preventing COVID?

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have already made it pretty clear that everyone is eligible to receive a bivalent COVID vaccine if they have already received the primary vaccine series of COVID vaccine. 

Even if you take a look at the different portals offered by pharmaceutical giants, you will find that they have already added a valid COVID vaccine to the list of COVID vaccines under the name of an updated booster shot.

If you want to get vaccinated with the bivalent COVID vaccine nearby your neighborhood, then you should make an early appointment or visit the walk-in vaccination site. In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is in partnership with several pharmaceutical giants, including Walgreens, Rite Aid, and CVS pharmacy.

You can use their official website to create an earlier appointment. If you don’t have any of these pharmacies nearby your neighborhood, then you can also visit a nearby community health care center, as they will help you find the nearby vaccination site.

People who are not able to locate any of the above-given pharmacies or community health care centers, then they can use the Centralized database launched by the Centers for Disease control and prevention.

You can simply click on the above-given button to reach the official database, where you just have to put your zip code, city name, or state name to find all the nearby pharmacies with your desired vaccine option. 

Similar to the primary series and booster series of the COVID vaccine, you don’t have to pay anything for the bivalent COVID vaccine in the United States. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have been paying for the vaccination of every eligible American in the country with federal funding.

Who can get a Bivalent Covid Vaccine?

As per the Centers for Disease Control and prevention of the United States, everyone above the age of 12 is eligible to receive a bivalent COVID vaccine after getting the primary series. You must maintain at least a two months gap between your last COVID vaccine dose and the bivalent COVID vaccine.