Updated COVID-19 booster shots arriving this week in Oregon

Published: Sep. 6, 2022 at 5:29 AM PDT

HILLSBORO, Ore. (KPTV) - Updated COVID-19 booster shots are expected to be available in the Pacific Northwest later this week, and the Oregon Health Authority says some vaccination sites will begin administering them on Wednesday.

The new boosters are designed to protect against the original strain and the subvariants of omicron.

A big question now is - how many people will turn out to get the new booster? FOX 12 asked several people in Hillsboro whether or not they’ll be getting the booster shot. Some said yes, while others aren’t so sure.

“I honestly haven’t thought very much about it,” said Dylan Fisher, who has had COVID-19 several times. “That first time was pretty rough. Second, third time, just a cough and stuff.”

Others, however, are grateful to have kept up-to-date with their boosters, like Lola Fields, who had COVID-19 a few weeks ago.

“It made it less severe,” she said. “I was really tired for a couple days, but that was it.”

Meanwhile, Fisher says since his experience with COVID-19 has followed a trend of not being as bad each time, it’s unlikely he’ll be getting an upgraded booster.

“It seems like at this point it’s more of pharmaceutical companies trying to make money sort of deal,” he said.

Some people won’t be waiting and instead are going to get the dose as soon as it’s available to them.

“I would do anything to protect my mom or my dad,” Lindsey Davais said. “You know, just kind of like getting a booster. One of those shots that you just need to live life.”

“I’m around a lot of people all of the time, and I just want to make sure that I don’t get it,” Fields said.

People are eligible for a dose of the new booster if it has been two months since receiving an initial COVID-19 vaccination or two months after receiving a booster shot. The Pfizer bivalent booster is for anyone 12 and up, while the Moderna booster shot is 18 and up.