Moderna bivalent COVID-19 booster supply exhausted in Clark County

Sydney Dawes, Springfield News-Sun, Ohio
·2 min read
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Sep. 17—The Clark County Combined Health District exhausted its supply of the Moderna bivalent booster vaccines this week.

The new bivalent boosters are made by Moderna and Pfizer, and both target the two main Omicron variants, BA.4 and BA.5, and the original COVID-19 strain.

Clark County Combined Health District health commissioner Charles Patterson said the state's supply of the updated booster is restricted. It's unclear when the health district and other Ohio county health districts will have their supplies replenished.

"At this point, we don't have a target day when it's coming in," Patterson said.

Although the state hasn't indicated when the Moderna boosters will be delivered, those who are wanting to get their booster dose but don't want to wait on the Moderna vaccines to be available can take the Pfizer bivalent booster, Patterson said.

"There may be people who have had Moderna the entire time," Patterson said. "But they're interchangeable."

The health district administered more than 330 vaccines this week and 150 vaccines last week, Patterson said. The health district has booked out booster appointments for next week as of Friday.

People who are 12 years and older and have waited two months since completing their primary series or their last booster are eligible for the bivalent vaccine, according to the CDC.

Patterson and Clark County Emergency Management Agency (EMA) director Michelle Clements-Pitstick hosted the health district's weekly COVID-19 livestream update.

Roughly 205 cases were reported to the health district this week.

Clark County remains at a "medium" COVID-19 transmission level. The CDC designations are based on the number of new coronavirus cases per 100,000 people in the past week, new COVID hospital admissions and the percent of staffed inpatient hospital beds occupied by coronavirus patients.

In Clark County, 15 new COVID-19 hospitalizations per 100,000 were reported over the past several days, nearly double what was reported last week.

The county's positivity rate sits at 14.4%, Patterson said. Home test kits are available at the health district's main office.

Residents of counties with a "medium" level of transmission should stay up-to-date with their COVID-19 vaccines, get tested if they have symptoms and consider wearing a facemask in public spaces, particularly if residents are at high-risk for severe illness, according to the CDC.

Since the pandemic's start, 40,000 cases of the virus have been reported in Clark County.