Williamson health district to offer updated COVID booster shots at walk-in clinic on Tuesday
The Williamson County and Cities Health District is offering updated COVID-19 booster shots at a walk-in clinic on Tuesday. The clinic will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the district's public health center at 100 W. Third St. in Georgetown, officials said.
The clinic is also offering primary COVID-19 vaccinations and the annual flu vaccine. Appointments can be made at any of the district's four clinics by calling (512) 943-3600.
People ages 12 and older are eligible for the booster that targets the original strain of COVID-19 and the BA.4 and BA.5 omicron subvariants, the health district said in a news release.
"The highly contagious BA.5 Omicron subvariant is the dominant strain of COVID-19, making up about 90% of cases nationally," according to the release. "The updated boosters are recommended as a single dose for people 12 and older who have received their primary COVID-19 vaccine series and have not received a COVID-19 vaccine dose in the last two months."
Children ages 5-11 are eligible for the original COVID-19 booster, which provides protection against the original strain of COVID-19, the release said. Children ages 6 months and older are recommended to get the primary COVID-19 vaccines. The full vaccination schedule details are available on a Centers for Disease Control website at cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/stay-up-to-date.
“Getting vaccinated and staying up to date on COVID-19 boosters remains the best way to protect against severe illness from COVID-19,” Dr. Amanda Norwood, the medical director and health authority at the district, said in the release.
“COVID-19 vaccines continue to show that they are effective at reducing severe symptoms that can result in hospitalization and death. The updated boosters can help restore protection that has waned since previous vaccination or infection and provide broader protection against newer variants.”
More:COVID-19 cases steady in Austin as new boosters roll out; other epidemics being watched
In Williamson County, 79.8% of the population ages 6 months and older has received one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, according to figures from the Texas Department of State Health Service. Those figures also show that 70.2% of the county's population ages 6 and older and 95.9% of the population ages 65 and older are fully vaccinated. They also show that 99.9 percent of the population ages 65 and up have received at least one dose of vaccine.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Williamson health district to offer updated COVID booster shots at walk-in clinic on Tuesday
