NORTHEASTERN PA — The Wright Center for Community Health is now administering the recently approved COVID-19 vaccine boosters that target the original strain of the coronavirus and the two omicron subvariants currently responsible for spreading the most illness.

 Federal health officials last week authorized use of the new shots, called bivalent vaccines. They also are known simply as “updated boosters.” 

These protectors—the first redesigned coronavirus vaccines to be released in America since the initial rollout in late 2020—are intended to help contain a possible surge of new cases this fall and winter. Vaccines have proven to be the most powerful tool against the highly contagious virus, with demonstrated effectiveness during the pandemic in reducing severe illness, hospitalization and death. 

The Moderna COVID-19 updated booster can be given as a single dose in adults ages 18 and older. 

The Pfizer-BioNTech version of the updated booster can be given to individuals aged 12 years and up. 

The doses can be received by anyone who has completed their initial shots, whether or not they have also received boosters, as long as their last shot was at least two months ago. 

“Even now, COVID-19 continues to claim an average of more than 380 lives per day in the U.S.,” said Dr. Jignesh Sheth, chief medical officer for The Wright Center for Community Health. “These updated boosters offer a defense against the most prevalent omicron variants, BA.4 and BA.5, to which people are susceptible today, especially if they have not yet received a booster or they got one a while ago and their immunity has waned.” 

Patients can schedule appointments by visiting the Wright Center’s website at TheWrightCenter.org and using the express online scheduling service. Boosters can be received with or without an office visit. 

The Wright Center for Community Health, headquartered in Scranton, is a Federally Qualified Health Center Look-Alike that currently operates eight primary care practices in Lackawanna, Luzerne and Wayne counties. 

The Wright Center provides comprehensive primary and preventive health services—including medical, dental, behavioral health, addiction and recovery, and infectious disease services—that cover the lifespan from pediatrics to geriatrics. The Wright Center serves the community, with a special emphasis on medically underserved populations. No patient is turned away due to an inability to pay. 

Learn more about the Wright Center’s mission and health care services by calling 570/230-0019 or visiting TheWrightCenter.org.