(SEATTLE) The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention quickly approved the new and improved COVID booster for kids late last week, which means the Omicron-focused vaccine is on its way to Washington.
Some families couldn’t wait for the news.
“We’re very excited! We’ve been waiting, and waiting and waiting,” one mom told us.
Other parents, and adults in general?
“Unfortunately, we’re becoming nonchalant about it,” says family physician Doctor Erika Aragona. “What doctors are trying to do is stress that the virus is still out there. And as it continues to mutate, we’re still seeing people get very sick.”
She says there is plenty of the new Omicron-focused boosters out there for adults.
“So, while it might not seem as scary as March 2020, COVID, unfortunately, is still here,” she says. “And we have to take the best defense.”
The same Omicron-centric formula is now approved for a booster for those age 5-11, but it must be a smaller dose. As long as it’s been at least two months since a child’s last booster or main vaccine course, they qualify for the new booster.
Those “kid size” doses begins shipment this week, meaning much of the Northwest likely won’t have a supply of kids doses until late this week or early next week. King County Vaccination sites are letting you add your child’s name to a wait list, while as of 5am today, Walgreens was the only pharmacy online allowing you to make an appointment for a child age 5-11. The earliest date they offered was October 28th.
