This month, Mid-Missouri residents will be able to receive the updated COVID-19 booster.
The booster is available at Walgreens and CVS locations in Mid-Missouri. The Columbia Missourian reported the updated vaccine is available at Hy-Vee locations, as well. Other local pharmacies including Kilgore’s, D&H Drugstore and Columbia Urgent Care are set to receive the booster some time this month.
MU Health Care told KOMU 8 last week that it would have the updated vaccine this month.
The booster will target the omicron KP. 2 variant and lead to increased protection from the virus that causes COVID-19. Anyone 6 months and older is eligible to receive the booster.
The Food and Drug Administration advised in June that updated vaccines should target the omicron KP. 2 variant as COVID-19 cases began to rise.
Austin Krohn, a spokesperson for Columbia/Boone Public Health and Human Services, said over the summer Columbia seen a high number of COVID-19 cases.
“That can be due to people getting together indoors with that air condition ventilation that makes people susceptible to catching it,” Krohn said.
Krohn said it’s recommended that everyone get this booster, regardless of their vaccination status.
Missouri saw an uptick in COVID-19 cases in August, which MU Health Care attributed to travel and students returning to schools.
MU Health Care said the new dominant strains of omicron are potentially more contagious than previous variants, but they are not causing more illness, according to past KOMU 8 reporting.