University News
Limited Supply of New COVID-19 Booster Vaccines Available by Appointment
UMass Amherst has received a limited supply of the new COVID-19 bivalent vaccine. Both the Pfizer and Moderna booster vaccines are available by appointment only at the campus vaccine clinic.
- Individuals 18 and older are eligible for a single booster dose of the Moderna Bivalent COVID-19 vaccine if it has been at least two months since they completed primary vaccination or if they have received the most recent booster dose with any authorized or approved COVID-19 vaccine.
- Individuals 12 and older are eligible for a single booster dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech Bivalent COVID-19 vaccine if it has been at least two months since they completed primary vaccination or if they have received the most recent booster dose with any authorized or approved COVID-19 vaccine.
The authorized bivalent COVID-19 vaccines, or updated boosters, include an mRNA component of the original strain to provide an immune response that is broadly protective against COVID-19 and an mRNA component in common between the Omicron variant BA.4 and BA.5 lineages to provide better protection against COVID-19 caused by the Omicron variant. The BA.4 and BA.5 lineages of the Omicron variant are currently causing most cases of COVID-19 in the U.S. and are predicted to circulate this fall and winter.