Wake County to offer new COVID-19 vaccines next week. What you need to know.
Wake County expects to begin offering COVID-19 booster shots for the fall and winter next week as people’s immunity from previous vaccinations and infections wanes.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the updated vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna on Monday that are formulated to target the latest XBB.1.5 subvariant of the coronavirus.
For the first time, the new shots will no longer be free for everyone.
If you have medical insurance, the new vaccines will be billed to your insurance provider. But the shots are typically covered through in-network insurance providers, similar to the annual flu shot and other vaccines, the county said.
Residents with Medicaid or Medicare will still receive the shot at no cost.
The vaccine also is free to people without insurance at county vaccination sites and pharmacies through the CDC’s Bridge Access Program, which will provide no-cost shots through 2024.
The federal Vaccines for Children program provides free vaccines for children without insurance.
Who should get vaccinated?
The updated COVID-19 shot can help protect people from getting seriously sick or hospitalized if they get infected.
Those at high risk of severe disease from COVID-19 are encouraged to get a new shot. That includes people who are over 65; people with weakened immune systems; or people with certain medical conditions, such as chronic lung disease, obesity, advanced diabetes or kidney disease.
COVID-19 hospitalizations in Wake County have risen by 30% from the first to second week of September, according to the county.
There were 638 new hospitalizations recorded last week, and 571 hospitalizations is the current seven-day average.
“The new vaccines approved this week are a much closer match to currently circulating variants than prior vaccines,” the county said in a news release.
Anyone age 5 and older can get the new booster shot from either Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna, whether or not they’ve been vaccinated before, the FDA said in a statement.
People should wait at least two months after their last COVID-19 shot before getting the new booster.
“Vaccination continues to be one of the most effective ways to protect ourselves against COVID-19, and these new boosters prove that we can adapt and continue to protect our community from new variants that emerge,” said Susan Evans, vice chair of the Wake County Board of Commissioners. “As we head into fall and the holidays, we encourage anyone who is eligible for the new vaccine to make an appointment to get their protection over the next few weeks.”
When, where to get vaccines
Wake County Public Health plans to offer the Moderna doses at all clinics beginning early next week.
The start date will depend on when the new vaccines arrive.
Wake County Public Health has vaccination locations throughout the county open five days a week.
All county clinics will administer the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine.
Vaccines.gov has a simple tool that allows users to enter their ZIP code and find a vaccine location near them.
Visit Wake County’s multilingual COVID-19 webpage for the latest information on COVID-19. It features a set of frequently asked questions, COVID-19 vaccine information, COVID-19 testing information and the most current data on how the virus is impacting our county.
