What to know about getting a bivalent COVID-19 booster vaccine in Alberta – CBC
Timing, not manufacturer, is what’s most important, says infectious diseases specialist
Oct 16, 2022
New COVID-19 bivalent booster vaccines may be leaving some Albertans with questions, but a local infectious diseases specialist says they shouldn’t overthink.
Health Canada has approved two COVID bivalent vaccines that target multiple strains of the novel coronavirus: the original strain of SARS-CoV-2 and Omicron subvariants.
Bivalent boosters differ from previous COVID-19 immunizations, which only targeted the original strain of SARS-CoV-2.
“People are getting a little kind of hung up on details and it’s making them feel more uncertain and negative than they really need to,” said Dr. Lynora Saxinger, an infectious diseases specialist at the University of Alberta.
Shivali Sharma, a pharmacist in Edmonton, has been fielding lots of calls from people asking which bivalent vaccine they should get and when they should get it.
