NEW YORK— Walgreens and CVS Pharmacy announced Friday that the redesigned COVID-19 booster shots developed by Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna  will now be available nationwide for eligible individuals aged 12 years and up.

The updated COVID-19 booster is developed to more effectively protect against the latest viral variants, including Omicron BA.4 and BA.5, the dominant virus strains in the United States.

Since the start of the pandemic, Walgreens has administered nearly 70M COVID-19 vaccine doses, while CVS has administered over 73M doses.

“Walgreens has played a vital role in responding to COVID-19 as millions have turned to us as a trusted and convenient vaccination destination,” said Dr. Anita Patel, vice president, pharmacy services development, Walgreens. “This season, we encourage everyone to stay protected by getting vaccinated with this more targeted updated COVID-19 booster in addition to receiving their flu shot or other routine immunizations in a single visit.”

Individuals can schedule via the Walgreens app, 1-800-WALGREENS, or online at Walgreens.com/ScheduleVaccine starting today for vaccinations. Additional appointments will be added daily as select Walgreens stores begin to receive the updated COVID-19 boosters.

With their announcement CVS Health issued the following statement:

“The government’s distribution of the updated boosters is underway and individual CVS Pharmacy locations are receiving the bivalent COVID-19 boosters on a rolling basis over the next few days and weeks.

Appointments are made available at CVS.com and via the CVS Pharmacy app as doses are received. Since initial supply is limited, patients who would like to receive the updated boosters are encouraged to make an appointment using our digital scheduler. Digital scheduling offers patients flexibility and convenience, as well as the ability to schedule multiple patients at once, which makes it easier for families and other groups that want to get vaccinated together.

The bivalent vaccines, which offer better protection against COVID-19 caused by the omicron variant, have been authorized for use as a single booster dose at least two months after primary or booster vaccination. Moderna’s bivalent COVID-19 booster is authorized for use as a single booster dose in people 18 years old and up. The Pfizer-BioNTech bivalent COVID-19 booster is authorized for use as a single booster dose in people 12 years old and up.

A patient can choose to receive either the updated Pfizer booster or the updated Moderna booster, regardless of which company’s primary dose series or booster vaccine they received previously. Also, the CDC has said that COVID-19 vaccinations may be co-administered with the flu vaccination. The digital scheduler available at CVS.com or via the CVS Pharmacy app allows patients to schedule a bivalent COVID-19 booster and flu vaccination during the same visit.

Since the start of the pandemic, CVS Health has administered more than 73 million COVID-19 vaccines to patients across the country. The company continues to provide communities with convenient access to vaccines at CVS Pharmacy including the new bivalent COVID-19 boosters, the approved COVID-19 primary series, as well as flu and several other vaccinations, such as pneumonia and shingles.”