Kokua Line: Where can I get Moderna bivalent booster shot?

Question: Is there a shortage of the new COVID-19 Moderna bivalent vaccine in Hawaii? I have received four Moderna vaccinations, and I am now eligible for the new bivalent booster. After much effort I have been unable to find a vaccination site on Oahu that has the COVID-19 Moderna bivalent booster. What’s up?

Answer: There is less Moderna bivalent booster available than Pfizer-BioNTech, but we had no trouble finding Oahu locations with appointments available, using the search tool at vaccines.gov. This federal website allows a user to filter their search for a COVID-19 primary series or booster shot by brand name and ZIP code. Our search Tuesday for bivalent booster shots turned up nearly as many locations with Moderna as Pfizer-BioNTech.

Also, adults don’t have to get the same brand of booster shot as they received for their primary COVID-19 vaccination, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. So even though you got Moderna for your primary vaccine series and previous boosters, you could get the Pfizer-­BioNTech bivalent booster now, and vice versa. When using the search tool, you can select either or both of the “newly authorized bivalent” options to find a location.

To answer other readers who asked about the Moderna booster, no, you don’t have to be a member of Kaiser Permanente to walk in for a COVID-19 booster shot at a Kaiser site, seven of which had Moderna bivalent booster doses available Tuesday or were scheduled to receive them today, said Laura M. Lott, spokesperson for Kaiser Permanente Hawaii.

Kaiser’s Moanalua Medical Center, West Oahu Medical Office, Waipio Medical Office, Lihue Clinic and Kona Medical Office had the updated Moderna boosters in stock Tuesday, and its Honolulu Medical Office and Koolau Medical Office were scheduled to receive them today, she said.

Kaiser locations also might offer Pfizer-BioNTech bivalent booster shots. Requests for a preferred brand are filled based on availability at the time. We’ll emphasize that Kaiser locations offer the bivalent COVID-19 booster shots on a walk-in basis; no appointments are made for the updated booster shots (unlike the primary vaccine series or booster shots for people under age 12).

“We appreciate people’s patience as we fill the steady demand for updated boosters,” Lott said.

If you care more about location than brand, check with your nearest retail pharmacy offering COVID-19 boosters, such as CVS/Longs, Walgreens, Safeway, Times, Costco and Walmart. Stop by in person, call or check their website; not every possibility is listed on the federal government’s website.

The Department of Health’s COVID-19 vaccine locator map at hawaiicovid19.com/vaccine lists pharmacies and clinics throughout the state. The search function filters by vaccine brand, but not specifically for the updated booster shots.

The CDC recommends that people 12 and older who completed their primary COVID-19 vaccine series or received their most recent booster shot at least two months ago get the bivalent booster, which targets the original virus and omicron strains prevalent now. People 12 to 17 may get the updated Pfizer-BioNTech booster, while those 18 and older may get either the Pfizer-­BioNTech or Moderna version.

The U.S. government ordered much more Pfizer-­BioNTech bivalent than Moderna bivalent (105 million doses versus 66 million doses) for nationwide distribution. Plant inspections slowed distribution of additional Moderna booster doses after the initial run, according to the Washington Post, which reported Tuesday the federal government is set to release 10 million more Moderna doses now that safety concerns have been resolved; no problems were found.

As of Tuesday, 149,200 bivalent booster doses (111,300 Pfizer-BioNTech and 37,900 Moderna) have been ordered for Hawaii, including 109,700 doses that have been delivered (84,900 Pfizer-BioNTech and 24,800 Moderna) and an additional 17,100 that have been shipped (6,600 Pfizer-BioNTech and 10,500 Moderna), said Brooks Baehr, spokesperson for the state Department of Health. This includes doses distributed at clinics and pharmacies throughout the state, including through the Department of Defense and retail pharmacies, he said.

Write to Kokua Line at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Suite 7-500, Honolulu, HI 96813; call 808-529-4773; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.