Buncombe health dept. has new COVID boosters to stave off omicron. Who can get one?

Andrew Jones, Asheville Citizen Times
·3 min read
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ASHEVILLE - Buncombe County Health and Human Services is now providing updated vaccine boosters protecting against the BA.4 and BA.5 strains of COVID-19’s omicron variant.

Buncombe’s health department started vaccinating people with the new booster Sept. 6, according to director Stacie Saunders, who briefed Board of Commissioners that day.

The latest versions of the booster providing added protection against omicron are available from both Moderna and Pfizer vaccine manufacturers.

The new Pfizer booster vaccine is available to people ages 12 and older.

UNC Asheville student Luna Little receives the Johnson & Johnson vaccine on Thursday, April 8, 2021, at the Reuter Center on UNCA's campus. Boosters protecting against the omicron variant are now available.
UNC Asheville student Luna Little receives the Johnson & Johnson vaccine on Thursday, April 8, 2021, at the Reuter Center on UNCA's campus. Boosters protecting against the omicron variant are now available.

The new Moderna booster vaccine is available to people ages 18 and older.

Related: NC's COVID-19 emergency status is gone, but local fights against the virus continue

Previously: Do we still need to get COVID vaccines? Buncombe to budget $388K for them

Updated boosters are recommended for those who have created completed their primary series of vaccines, Saunders noted or initial booster at least two months prior. Pharmacies and other area providers also started Sept. 6 to administer the new boosters.

The vaccines were approved by the Food and Drug Administration Aug. 31 and recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Sept. 2.

Information about how to find vaccines close by is available at covid19.ncdhhs.gov/vaccines.

“Vaccines have and will continue to help us reduce COVID-19 in our community, protect us from severe illness and prevent deaths,” Saunders said.

Buncombe’s health department also continues to provide testing in coordination with vendor StarMed Healthcare at the Asheville Mall, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Mondays and Fridays.

As of Saunders’ presentation Sept. 6, Buncombe has returned to a “low” community level, based on the CDC's standards for how much the virus will burden local health care systems.

During the last seven days of August, 67 people were hospitalized with the virus in Western North Carolina's 17-hospital Mountain Area Healthcare Preparedness Coalition region.

Buncombe spent several weeks in the medium level during the most recent wave of COVID, prompted by BA.4 and BA.5.

As of Sept. 6, the case rate for buncombe was 132 per 100,0000 and was in its fourth consecutive week of decline.

Buncombe has lost 636 people total deaths from the virus since 2020.

While COVID numbers may be in decline right now, with more boosters meant to continue that trend, Saunders was very clear about potential future waves.

Read this: Great Smoky Mountains orders mask mandate with COVID rise. Is Blue Ridge Parkway next?

In her briefing she recommended people:

  • Stay up to date on vaccines.

  • Know your testing locations.

  • Have at-home test kits on hand.

  • Keep masks available for times of higher transmission.

  • Identify locations for treatment, if eligible, ahead of time.

Buncombe is going beyond just providing vaccines and testing as well. It has a six-person mobile team that has completed 11 COVID vaccine events since June with partners including the Mexican Consulate and North Carolina Black Alliance Health Fair.

Saunders said the mobile team provided testing and vaccines to Buncombe County Detention Center staff and detainees.

“Is there a single source of truth where people can go to see when they should get a shot in relation to their most recent naturally occurring infection?” Commissioner Parker Sloan asked Saunders after the briefing.

“You want to be recovered first, but if you have any questions about ‘How long should I wait?’ you can talk to your doctors or call us,” Saunders said. “If it’s been at least two months since you’ve finished your primary series or received your last booster, then you’re eligible for the newly formulated bivalent.”

A bivalent vaccine is one that “works by stimulating an immune response against two different antigens, such as two different viruses or other microorganisms,” according to the National Cancer Institute.

Andrew Jones is an investigative reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at @arjonesreports on Facebook and Twitter, 828-226-6203 or arjones@citizentimes.com. Please help support this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Buncombe begins providing new booster vaccines against omicron variant