UNC, Duke, NC State and other campuses offer new COVID booster for students and staff
Health centers on college campuses across North Carolina are offering a newly approved COVID-19 booster for free for students and employees.
The bivalent booster was created in response to the omicron variant. Its new formula will likely make the vaccines more effective at stopping breakthrough infections and preventing serious illness ahead of a potential surge this winter, The News & Observer previously reported.
“The easiest way to think about it is, this is exactly what we do each year for flu when we try and ever so slightly modify the recipe,” Duke infectious disease expert Dr. Cameron Wolfe told The N&O.
Some universities got a supply of the nearly 500,000 doses that were distributed across the state last week.
Campus health officials recommended that students get their booster shots before heading back for the fall semester, if they hadn’t already. Students and employees can use this tool by the CDC (www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/stay-up-to-date.html) to stay up to date on their vaccinations and see whether it’s time for them to get another booster shot.
The Moderna booster is approved for individuals over 18 years old and people over 12 years old can get the Pfizer booster shot, even if they previously got the Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen vaccine. But everyone must wait at least two months after their last COVID-19 shot.
UNC-Chapel Hill has the updated Pfizer vaccine boosters available on campus for students and employees to get through the Campus Health Pharmacy and Student Stores Pharmacy.
The pharmacies are open Monday through Friday between 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and visitors don’t need an appointment. Students and employees should bring their vaccination card and insurance card. The boosters come at no out-of-pocket cost.
Students and employees at Duke University can make an appointment to get the new Pfizer booster shot on campus. They can also get COVID-19 vaccines at Duke University Hospital, Duke Regional Hospital or Duke Raleigh Hospital.
N.C. State University has some doses of the new bivalent COVID vaccine available for students and employees by appointment at campus health.
East Carolina University’s student health center has a supply for students and employees.
Appalachian State University is offering a $50 Amazon gift card to students and employees who get a COVID vaccine or booster on campus. The vaccines are available at Student Health Service by appointment.
Elon University set up clinics for students, faculty and staff to get the bivalent COVID booster for free on campus. Two are scheduled for Friday, Sept. 16, and Friday, Sept. 23 and more booster and flu vaccine clinics will be offered this fall.
N.C. Central University has not yet received the new bivalent COVID-19 booster.
UNC Wilmington has ordered the vaccines and will let the campus know when they arrive.
UNC Charlotte plans to offer the new bivalent booster shots on campus through booster clinics, but the Student Health Center has not yet received the vaccines, the student-run newspaper Niner Times reported. UNCC expects to open the clinics in late September or early October.
This story will be updated as universities release more information about the new bivalent booster shots.
This story was originally published September 13, 2022 at 12:51 PM.
