New COVID booster shots to soon be at 3 more community sites
This August 2022 photo provided by Pfizer shows vials of the company's updated COVID-19 vaccine during production in Kalamazoo, Mich. U.S. regulators have authorized updated COVID-19 boosters, the first to directly target today's most common omicron strain. The move on Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2022, by the Food and Drug Administration tweaks the recipe of shots made by Pfizer and rival Moderna that already have saved millions of lives. (Pfizer via AP)
Minnesota health officials say the updated COVID-19 booster shots will soon be at three more state-run community sites.
Last week, appointments opened for the boosters at Mall of America and Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center.
Now, appointments have opened for sites in Moorhead and Rochester, and the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) says the boosters will also be coming to the St. Paul Midway testing location next week. The Moorhead site will be at the former Thomas Edison Elementary School on South 14th Street while Mayo Civic Center will host Rochester’s vaccination site.
The first available appointments for the Rochester and Moorhead sites are on Friday.
Additionally, MDH says many Minnesota pharmacies, health care systems, local public health agencies and other providers are also offering the new boosters.
“Staying up to date on your COVID-19 vaccines is a crucial part of protecting our state in the months ahead,” MDH Commissioner Jan Malcolm said. “The bivalent boosters were shown to be safe and effective, and they will be a key tool in helping provide better protection against variants that are currently spreading.”
Click here to find a vaccine provider near you or find vaccine appointments by vaccine type here.
COVID-19 tests are also still being offered for walk-ins or those with an appointment at the state’s community testing sites.
Minnesotans with questions about COVID-19 can call the state’s public hotline at 1-833-431-2053.