New COVID boosters will arrive soon locally
This year, along with seasonal flu shots, many pharmacies are also offering the latest COVID-19 booster.
Earlier this week, amid an increase in COVID cases nationwide, the Centers for Disease Control and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved an updated COVID-19 mRNA vaccine to better combat the recent Omicron variant.
Pfizer and Moderna both offer the new COVID-19 vaccine. It is approved for people 5 years and older no matter their prior vaccine status, so long as it has been two months since their last dose of any COVID-19 vaccine.
The updated vaccine is also safe for children 6 months to 4 years old, with guidelines varying depending upon whether or not they were vaccinated previously.
CVS pharmacies nationwide began receiving shipments of the new booster Sept. 13, and all CVS Pharmacy locations should have the booster in stock by early next week, according to a press release.
Walk-in appointments will be available as locations receive the COVID booster. People are encouraged to make appointments at the pharmacy nearest them online at cvs.com, which provides real-time availability, or at MinuteClinic.com.
Rite Aid pharmacies, too, will offer the new booster as soon as shipments arrive. The Rite Aid along High Street in Waynesburg said boosters should arrive by the end of this month, and other area Rite Aids also expect shipments between the end of next week and the end of September.
The booster will be available to walk-ins, but appointments may be made online at https://www.riteaid.com/pharmacy/scheduler.
A spokesperson for Giant Eagle Pharmacy said the COVID booster should be available in the coming days. People are encouraged to call ahead to ensure their location has the booster in stock.
While big-box stores are in some places already offering the new vaccine, local pharmacies expect the boosters to be available within the next few weeks.
“The way things are in retail pharmacy, the big stores, the large box retailers, usually get inventory first. They have a significantly higher patient load. It sort of trickles down to individual retailers,” said pharmacist Steve Harper, who works at Hixenbaugh’s Drug Store in Uniontown. “We have a hopeful timeframe: within the next two weeks, I should have some available.”
The pharmacy has seen an uptick in COVID-19 testing supply purchases and treatment prescriptions, so while Harper doesn’t anticipate vaccine interest to meet height-of-pandemic demand, he does believe people will drop in for a jab.
“I do think that over the next 90 days, there will be an uptick in the vaccine boosters, for sure,” he said.
Brian Miles, pharmacist at Brownsville Family Pharmacy in Fayette County, said he preordered the booster, but hasn’t received a shipment arrival date.
Nickman’s Drug, which has five locations throughout Fayette County, will also offer the booster. Most of the boosters will be distributed at the Lemont Furnace clinic.
“It’s a little different now because the COVID shots are not provided free from the government,” explained Peter Kreckel, director of clinical services. “They cost $120 for Pfizer, $129 for Moderna, but they will be paid for by the commercial insurance or federal medical insurance, Medicare, Medicaid.”
People are encouraged to double-check with their health-care provider regarding booster cost, but most insurances do cover the new COVID-19 shot. The shot will be offered at Nickman’s in tandem with this year’s flu shots.
“What we ideally want to do is combine them: you get a flu shot in one arm and a COVID shot in the other,” Kreckel said, noting it takes about two weeks for a flu shot to kick in, so “I wouldn’t be in a rush to get a COVID shot until October.”
Kreckel said Nickman’s is also offering the RSV shot, which he advises getting about a month after receiving the COVID and flu shot combo.
“We’ll be plenty busy in the next six to eight weeks getting Fayette County immunized,” he laughed.
Lending a hand in Fayette will be Curtis Pharmacy, having purchased a pharmacy in Connellsville at the start of the year.
“They haven’t shipped yet, so I don’t want mass panic. They just got approved, so we’re hearing another week or so when they ship,” said Erich Cushey, who owns the company with his wife, Tina.
Once boosters ship, he said, they will be available at all four Curtis locations, including Washington, Claysville and Carmichaels, in addition to the Connellsville store.
“Usually we start flu shots around the end of September, first of October. We’ll be starting end of this month. As long as our shipment of boosters comes in, we’ll be able to do booster and flu together,” Cushey said. “Those that want them, we’ll have them.”
Those who would like a COVID-19 booster will be able to get one at Famcare in Burgettstown, said pharmacist Ken James, who noted people have been asking about the latest shot when dropping into the shop.
“It’s ultimately at the discretion of our wholesaler. We’re hoping mid next week,” said James.
While some local pharmacies are awaiting their booster shipments, others are still gauging interest, or have decided against offering the new COVID vaccine.
“We’re not really 100% sure yet, to be honest,” said Chris Vermilya, owner of The Medicine Shoppe Pharmacy along Jefferson Avenue in Washington. “We have had very, very little people asking for it. That’s part of my hesitation at this point.”
Vermilya understands how personal the choice to be vaccinated or boosted is, he said, and though offering the new COVID shot isn’t entirely off the table, he’s waiting to learn more about his customer base’s wants and needs before offering the service.
A spokesperson for Jeffrey’s Drug Store in Canonsburg said the pharmacy is not offering the new booster at this time, and several local pharmacies did not return a call for comment by deadline.
For more information on the new COVID-19 booster, visit https://www.cdc.gov/respiratory-viruses/whats-new/covid-vaccine-recommendations-9-12-2023.html.