Shasta, Siskiyou counties offer second bivalent booster as COVID strain Arcturus arrives
Starting in May, some people can get a second COVID bivalent booster shot at North State clinics.
That opportunity comes on the heels of a new COVID variant circulating in California this year, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
As of the end of April, the Arcturus variant (XBB.1.16) ― a form of the highly contagious Omicron variant ― was responsible for about 12% of COVID cases in the United States, according to CDC estimates. It made up 10.3% of COVID cases in what the CDC's southwestern region: California, Arizona, Nevada, Hawaii, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, the Marshall Islands, Palau and American Samoa.
Arcturus differs from earlier strains in at least two ways, according to infectious disease specialists. On average, it tends to produce higher fevers than other strains and it can produce conjunctivitis, or pink eye ― especially in children.
Thus far, samples from some COVID patients sent to state labs for analysis have come back negative for Arcturus, according to HHSA spokesperson Amy Koslosky. “This doesn't mean that we don't have this variant circulating in our population,” she said. “It takes some time for the CDC dashboard to update, so the current proportion is unknown,” he said, adding that “this variant is circulating in the community. We’re just not able to collect a sample that contains it.”
An extra bit of protection against some Omicron strains and the original COVID strain may be on the way for people who are most vulnerable to worst cases of the virus, according to state public health officials.
Starting in May, people who are 65 years old and older, or who have one or more conditions that compromise their immune system, can get a second bivalent COVID booster shot, Koslosky said. “Once the state updates the online vaccine scheduler at myturn.ca.gov, the Shasta County Public Health Vaccination Clinic will accept appointments for the Moderna and Pfizer bivalent second dose,” she said.
To qualify, a person must have had the first bivalent shot at least four months ago, Koslosky said.
As of Wednesday, Siskiyou County Public Health clinics were already offering the second bivalent shot to the same demographics at their clinics in Yreka and Mount Shasta, and at pop-up clinics throughout the county, said Siskiyou County Health and Human Services Agency spokesperson Angie Cook.
Bivalent boosters, like the one administered by many clinics and pharmacies this past fall and winter, is designed to help protect the body against more than one strain of a disease, in this case both the original virus that causes COVID-19 and the Omicron variants BA.4 and BA.5, according to the CDC's website.
Previous booster vaccines were monovalent, offering protection from one strain of the virus, according to the Washington State Department of Health.
Shasta and Siskiyou clinics are phasing out use of the monovalent booster, the original mRNA COVID-19 vaccine, Cook and Koslosky said. That vaccine cocktail “will no longer be recommended for use in the United States," Koslosky said.
More: Why some people are getting turned down for a COVID-19 booster shot
For more information about COVID boosters, call Siskiyou County Public Health at 530-841-2134, or Shasta County Public Health at 530-225-5591.
For more information on when a person is eligible for a booster go to COVID-19 Vaccine Timing.
Jessica Skropanic is a features reporter for the Record Searchlight/USA Today Network. She covers science, arts, social issues and news stories. Follow her on Twitter @RS_JSkropanic and on Facebook. Join Jessica in the Get Out! Nor Cal recreation Facebook group. To support and sustain this work, please subscribe today. Thank you.
This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: Clinics give 2nd bivalent booster as new COVID strain arrives
