"Updated COVID-19 booster now widely available across the US"

The newly authorized COVID-19 booster, which is the same bivalent booster approved last fall, is readily available in central Pennsylvania at CVS, Rite Aid, and Giant Food stores. The booster is recommended for people 65 or older and those with weakened immune systems, as the effectiveness of the previous dose fades after several months. The bivalent booster protects against the original COVID-19 strain as well as the omicron variant, and doctors urge people to get it to significantly lower the risk of becoming severely ill or dying. The bivalent booster has become the main COVID-19 shot, and federal officials will meet again in the coming weeks and months to discuss authorizing bivalent boosters for everyone.