Mayor Bowser and DC Health Encourage Residents to Get Their Flu Vaccine and Bivalent COVID-19 Booster

District of Columbia sent this bulletin at 09/02/2022 09:39 AM EDT

Vaccine Updates

September 2, 2022

Mayor Bowser and DC Health Encourage Residents to Get Their Flu Vaccine and Bivalent COVID-19 Booster

Mayor Muriel Bowser and DC Health encouraged all District residents to receive their annual influenza (flu) vaccination and their bivalent COVID-19 booster – also known as the Omicron booster – at the same time. These vaccines will be available at pharmacies and clinics throughout the District of Columbia beginning next week. Beginning Wednesday, September 7, both the flu vaccine and Bivalent booster vaccine will be available in COVID Centers in all eight wards.

The influenza vaccine protects against the strains of the flu virus that are expected to circulate this fall and winter and reduces your chance of getting the flu or spreading it to others. The Bivalent booster vaccine provides specific protection against the original COVID-19 virus and the new, more contagious, Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 variants.

The annual flu vaccine is recommended for anyone six months and older. COVID-19 bivalent booster vaccines produced by both Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna are available. The Pfizer-BioNTech bivalent booster is recommended for individuals 12 years of age or older if it has been at least two months since they have completed their primary vaccination series or at least two months since they received a booster dose. The Moderna bivalent booster is recommended for individuals 18 years of age and older if it has been at least two months since they have completed their primary vaccination series or at least two months since they received a booster dose.

DC Health continues to emphasize that the most important thing residents can do to protect themselves and their families from COVID-19 and the flu this fall and winter is to be up to date with their vaccinations. There are many opportunities to get your primary series or COVID-19 booster vaccines in the District:

Visit a pharmacy, walk-up vaccine clinic, or COVID Center
Make an appointment with your health care provider
Make an at-home vaccination appointment by calling 1-855-363-0333
Find other opportunities to get vaccinated by visiting vaccines.gov