New COVID-19 vaccine boosters arriving in Seattle and Washington

Updated COVID-19 booster shots are arriving in King County this week, and public health officials urge most people 12 years and older to get them.

Driving the news: By week's end, King County will get about 30,000 doses of the new boosters tailored to fight the widely circulating BA.4 and BA.5 Omicron variants.

• Jeff Duchin, the county's health officer, said residents should be able to get their shot at public vaccination events starting Friday.
• By the end of next week, pharmacies and health care providers in the county are expected to have received 92,000 booster doses, Duchin said.
• Statewide, public health officials say more than 191,000 doses are en route, with more expected in the coming weeks.

Details: Anyone 12 and older should receive the booster, unless they have recently contracted COVID-19 or just received a vaccine or booster dose, health officials say.

• Those who were recently infected should wait three months after their last infection, Duchin said.
• Meanwhile, those who recently got a COVID-19 vaccine dose should wait until at least two months after their last shot before getting the new booster.

What they're saying: Getting a booster is expected to provide "more durable" protection against newer COVID-19 variants, and possibly against future strains as well, Duchin said.

• While COVID-19 activity and hospitalizations have been declining countywide, infections and deaths are still too common, he added.

• "It's not a good idea to try to time your booster dose for when the next surge comes, because that's unpredictable," Duchin told reporters Tuesday. "No one can really predict with certainty when they will be exposed."

Be smart: Duchin recommended that people looking to get the booster call ahead to pharmacies and health care providers to make sure it's available, or find out when it will be.

• The state Department of Health has asked people to be patient as the supply ramps up.
• Public vaccination events are listed on Public Health – Seattle & King County's website.

People can use the state's Vaccine Locator or call the COVID-19 Information Hotline at 1-800-525-0127 to find available doses.