HAGERSTOWN – Parents and guardians of children ages six months to five years of age may now make appointments for them to receive the bivalent COVID-19 booster through the Washington County Health Department.
Appointments for pediatric clinics may be made by calling 240-313-3456 or visiting washcohealth.org under the COVID-19 section. Pediatric clinics are held at the main health department building at 1302 Pennsylvania Ave.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the updated, bivalent boosters protect against both the original virus that causes COVID-19, as well as the Omicron variants. As the virus changes over time, science has also worked to change and provide protection against new variants being created.
For the best protection, the CDC recommends this “third dose” of the vaccine for everyone six months to five years old. Children with underlying medical conditions are more likely to get severely ill from COVID-19; however, healthy children without underlying health concerns can also experience severe illness.
As a reminder, children who weigh less than 16.5 pounds will not be able to receive the COVID-19 vaccinations from the health department and will be directed to visit their primary care provider for the shots.
