Ask the Doctors: Omicron variant COVID-19 boosters are now recommended for all

Dear Doctors: The new COVID-19 boosters are here, and I’m not sure if, or when, I need to get one. I had the two-shot Moderna series last winter. I had a mild case of COVID-19 this summer. When I got better, I got the booster. Do I still need to get another one?

Dear Reader: When an altered version of an original virus becomes successful enough to spread widely, it’s known as a variant. With the emergence of the omicron variant, the original coronavirus vaccine needed a tweak.

More than 90% of new COVID cases nationwide are being caused by the omicron variant. It’s a great relief that a new tool in the fight against the disease is available.

The reformulated boosters — known as a bivalent vaccine — include components of the original virus strain that triggered the epidemic and the now-dominant omicron versions: BA.4 and BA.5.

The result: broader protection against the coronavirus and its most widely seen variant.

By staying up to date with the newest vaccine, you have improved protection against severe illness, hospitalization and death.

The federal Food and Drug Administration authorized the bivalent formulations of the Moderna and Pfizer boosters for those who have gotten their original, two-dose shots.

The Pfizer version is available to anyone 12 or older. The new Moderna booster is authorized for everyone 18 and older.

Each of these boosters is a single-dose shot.

This bivalent booster is recommended to everyone who is eligible, no matter how many previous boosters you’ve had.

But the FDA set a wait period of at least eight weeks between the last dose of the original booster and getting a shot of the new omicron bivalent version to optimize the body’s immune response and thus provide more robust protection.

There’s also a wait period for people who recently had COVID. The FDA and the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend waiting at least 12 weeks after recovery from a coronavirus infection to get the new booster. Again, this is to boost immune response.

And, yes, you can get a flu vaccine and the new omicron booster at the same time.

Dr. Eve Glazier and Dr. Elizabeth Ko are internists at UCLA Health.