The first bivalent booster vaccines designed specifically to protect against original COVID-19 and the most common forms of COVID-19 in Hawaiʻi, the BA.4 and BA.5 Omicron subvariants, is now available.
The BA.5 subvariant accounts for 91% of Hawaiʻi COVID-19 cases and the BA.4 subvariant accounts for an additional 4%.
“The [current] COVID-19 boosters do a good job of protecting us against severe illness. The new boosters are an upgrade because they account for mutations of the COVID-19 virus,” said State Health Director Dr. Elizabeth Char.
The new bivalent vaccines will be administered as a single booster dose to those who previously completed a primary series of COVID-19 vaccines and those who have had one or two booster doses.
For information about providers and the services they offer visit the vaccine finder map at https://hawaiicovid19.com/vaccine/.
