Bivalent COVID-19 booster available to Sask. residents 18 and older starting Thursday

People 18 and older in Saskatchewan can get a bivalent COVID-19 booster starting Thursday.

The province announced the expansion of access on its website Wednesday afternoon.

The Moderna Spikevax bivalent booster offers protection against both the original SARS-CoV-2 strain and the Omicron variant.

The vaccine has been available to adults in many provinces, but Saskatchewan had limited access to people 70 and older, or those 50 and older in First Nations and Métis communities and in the Northern Saskatchewan Administration District.

The Ministry of Health said the vaccine will be made available through Saskatchewan Health Authority booked appointments, at walk-in clinics and at participating pharmacies.

It is recommending people wait four months after their previous booster before getting a new dose.

The bivalent vaccine is only available as a booster. Those who have not received a first or second vaccination cannot receive the booster.

The Ministry of Health said for the best immune response, those who have had COVID-19 may want to wait three months after their recovery before getting boosted.

Bivalent booster offers protection against severe outcomes, says doctor

Dr. Raj Bhardwaj told CBC's The Morning Edition on Wednesday that the bivalent vaccine "helps your immune system to bolster its memory for fighting COVID in general and then also recognize this BA.1 and other Omicron subvariants."

"It's got the original vaccine in it, and that original vaccine is what trained your immune system to recognize and fight against the spike protein on the original SARS-CoV-2 virus. Plus this vaccine has been updated to protect us against the spike protein that mutated and evolved to sidestep our immune defences as the Omicron BA.1 version of the virus."

The bivalent booster available in Canada and the United Kingdom is different than the versions approved for use in the United States, which target BA.4 and BA.5.

Earlier this month, Health Canada received applications from Pfizer and Moderna for their BA.4/BA.5 bivalent boosters.

Bhardwaj said the bivalent booster approved and available in Canada has been shown to be effective.

"The lab studies all show that if you get a BA.1 boost, it also boosts your antibodies to BA.4 and BA.5 as well, which are the circulating ones."

Bhardwaj said people who recently received a different booster shouldn't have buyer's remorse.

"If you got a booster over the spring or summer like I did, then good, it protected you all summer. That's fantastic."

He said immunity wanes over time and each booster will increase protection against severe disease.

Bhardwaj said the initial two doses and a previous COVID infection do not offer the most protection.

"A booster dose is very protective, especially if you're over 50, especially if you have other medical conditions, and especially if it's been six months since your last vaccine dose or your last infection with COVID."