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New Bivalent COVID-19 boosters now available in Tattnall
vaccine
Licensed practical nurse Yokasta Castro, of Warwick, R.I., draws a Moderna COVID-19 vaccine into a syringe at a mass vaccination clinic at Gillette Stadium, in Foxborough, Mass. - photo by Associated Press

The new bivalent COVID-19 booster is now available in Tattnall County at the two health department sites in Glennville and Reidsville.  

The bivalent booster manufactured by Pfizer is recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for individuals ages 12 and older, and the bivalent booster by Moderna is recommended for adults 18 and older.

The bivalent vaccine contains the genetic recipes for two versions of COVID-19: the original strain plus the omicron sub-variants BA.4 and BA.5, offering better protection against the currently circulating COVID-19 variants.  People should wait at least two months after completing their initial vaccination or their last booster shot before getting the bivalent booster.

According to the Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH), at this time, the bivalent vaccine is considered only a booster.  It is not to be used as the initial two-dose COVID vaccine.  The monovalent mRNA COVID-19 vaccines will still be administered for the primary series of vaccine and as a booster for children under the age of 12.

For questions about service provisions at either Tattnall location, individuals may reach Tattnall County Health Department staff Monday through Friday by calling (855) 473-4374. Please note that the Glennville location is open Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and the Reidsville site is open on Tuesday and Thursday.  Office hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Georgia is currently seeing an average of 3,000 cases of COVID reported a week.  More than 89 percent of newly reported COVID cases are causes by the BA.5 variant.  Hospitalizations and deaths from COVID continue to decrease in the state.

The DPH recommends, in addition to vaccination and boosters, basic prevention measures should also be followed to help prevent further spread of COVID and mitigate outbreaks of infection, especially in public settings: wear a mask, physically distance, and wash your hands frequently with soap and water.

For updates on COVID-19, follow @GaDPH and @GovKemp on Twitter and @ GaDPH and @GovKemp on Facebook. For more information on vaccination and boosters, visit https://itsthatsimplega.ga.gov/.