State Issues Updated Vaccination Provider Guidance

On Oct. 17, 2022, the State issued updated COVID-19 vaccination provider guidance addressing the fact that bivalent boosters are now available for younger individuals. The following are the most pertinent changes. Please note that new vaccination screening and checklist documents are also available here.

• Update as of Oct. 12, 2022: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) amended the Emergency Use Authorizations (EUAs) of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine and the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to authorize bivalent formulations of the vaccines for use as a single booster dose in younger age groups.
• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) updated its interim clinical considerations to recommend that individuals ages 5 years and older receive ONE age-appropriate bivalent mRNA booster dose at least two months after completing primary vaccination with any FDA-authorized/approved monovalent COVID-19 vaccine, or at least two months after receipt of a recent booster dose of any FDA-authorized or approved monovalent COVID-19 vaccine. This new booster recommendation replaces all prior booster recommendations for this age group.
  • The bivalent Moderna booster dose is recommended for use in individuals ages 6 years and older.
  • The bivalent Pfizer-BioNTech booster dose is recommended for use in individuals ages 5 years and older.
  • Monovalent mRNA vaccines are no longer authorized as a booster dose for people ages 5 years and older.
  • Children ages 6 months to 4 years are currently not authorized to receive any booster dose using any COVID-19 vaccine.
• The bivalent vaccine is a vaccine product that is based on the original (ancestral) strain of SARS-CoV-2 and the Omicron BA.4/BA.5 variants of SARS-CoV-2.
• On Oct. 12, 2022, the CDC updated the COVID-19 vaccine schedule for those eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine by age, immunocompetency status, and vaccine product. These changes were made to reflect recent FDA EUAs for bivalent formulations of the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines as booster doses for younger age groups. An immunization schedule for individuals 6 months of age and older can be found here. The CDC endorses and recommends a clinical preference for individuals ages 18 years and older to receive an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine (i.e., Pfizer, Moderna) or Novavax vaccine over the Janssen (Johnson & Johnson) COVID-19 vaccine.
• Storage and handling guidance has been updated to reflect updated guidance regarding bivalent formulations of the COVID-19 vaccine.
• For detailed clinical guidelines regarding the administration of the COVID-19 vaccines, providers should refer to the CDC Interim Clinical Considerations here.

Contact: Meg Everett, meverett@leadingageny.org, 518-867-8871