We recently shared news about the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) recommendation for an updated bivalent COVID-19 vaccine booster for individuals 12 years of age and older. Following the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) emergency use authorization of the two bivalent COVID-19 vaccines in younger age groups, the CDC has amended their recommendation to include a bivalent booster for pediatric patients ages 5 to 11.
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Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, bivalent [NDC: 59267-0565-01, 59267-0565-02] is authorized as a single booster dose for individuals 5 to 11 years of age.
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Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, bivalent [NDC: 80777-0280-05, 80777-0280-99, 80777-0282-05, 80777-0282-99] is authorized as a single booster dose for individuals 6 to 11 years of age.
All individuals seeking a COVID-19 booster who are ages 5 and older should receive one of the new bivalent vaccines. The updated bivalent vaccines protect against both the original SARS-CoV-2 strain and the highly contagious Omicron variants and may be administered two months following either a primary or booster vaccination with a monovalent vaccine. The original (monovalent) vaccines will continue to be used for primary vaccinations in patients who have never been vaccinated against COVID-19, but the authorization to use the monovalent vaccines as a booster dose for individuals 5 to 11 years of age was rescinded by the FDA.
If the updated vaccine booster is obtained at an in-network pharmacy, the standard administration fee of $40 will be submitted under your health plan’s pharmacy benefit. Your members will have a $0 cost share.
Please contact your pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) or your MedCost Account Manager if you have any questions.