Appointments are now available for the new COVID-19 bivalent booster in select pharmacies around Columbia.
The new booster targets the omicron variant of COVID-19 and is a single dose that patients can receive two months after the initial vaccination or booster, according to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). People can also register to get a flu shot at some locations at the same time as the new vaccine.
Some pharmacies around Columbia that started administering the vaccine are already seeing a high demand.
“We’ve been really busy since we got those in on, I think, we just started Thursday,” said Krista Stoddard, a pharmacy technician at D&H Drugstore. “We got some Moderna in and then we got the Pfizer in and just started doing those pretty much immediately. So yeah, we’re pretty booked up already.”
MU Health Care is also opening appointments for the vaccine starting Monday, with vaccine clinics throughout October and November.
Flow's Pharmacy on Broadway will start offering drive-thru vaccinations Tuesday to prepare for high demand. Anthony Desha, owner of Flow’s Pharmacy, said walk-ins will be available as well and patients can ask for a flu shot upon walk-in, but the COVID-19 booster will only be offered Tuesdays and Thursdays. The Broadway location is the only Flow‘s Pharmacy currently offering the booster shot.
Gerbes Pharmacy and Walmart Pharmacy are not yet offering the booster. Multiple Gerbes locations said they do not have an estimated time on when the vaccine shipment will arrive. All three Walmart locations in Columbia said potential patients can expect updates about when appointments will become available in the next week.
The FDA reported that side effects for the COVID-19 bivalent booster will likely be the same as the initial vaccine. Stoddard said she has only heard from fellow employees, who said they have had sore arms.
The following locations currently have appointments available for the COVID-19 bivalent booster:
- Hy-Vee on Nifong Boulevard.
- Kilgore's on Providence Road.
- Walgreens on Club Village Drive.
- Flow’s Pharmacy on Broadway.
- MU Health Care.
- D&H Drugstore on Broadway.
