Federal authorities authorized the use of new updated bivalent COVID-19 boosters for people 12 and older, and the updated boosters are expected to be available in Oregon as early as next week. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention today endorsed a recommendation by its Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices and approved both the Pfizer and Moderna bivalent boosters for use. The recommendation comes after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for the new mRNA bivalent boosters, which add an Omicron BA.4/5 spike protein component to the current vaccine composition, on Wednesday. Both boosters are designed to prevent severe illness and hospitalization from a broader range of viral strains, including the BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants that account for the overwhelming majority of recent COVID-19 infections in Oregon and nationally. The updated boosters are a single dose that can be administered two months after an initial two-dose serie
New COVID-19 cases in the Rogue Valley and the state continued their general downward trend over the past week.
The Oregon Health Authority reported 197 new cases in Jackson County for the past week, .