Seattle health officials say now is time to make appointments for latest COVID vaccine

Officials at Seattle and King County Public Health are encouraging people to start arranging appointments following the CDC approval of updated COVID-19 vaccines.

“The new 2023-24 COVID-19 vaccines have been approved,” the health department’s announcement reads. “Some pharmacies and providers may have it in the next days and weeks. Check http://Vaccines.gov to find appointments or check with your provider.”

The CDC is recommending the new vaccines for the upcoming “fall/winter season” for everybody 6 months and older.

Officials are hoping to head off overlap of increasing COVID-19 infections with flu season and the seasonal rise in the spread of other respiratory viruses.

Concerns and awareness about COVID-19 trends locally have faded considerably from the pandemic’s height. The county estimates only about 35.7% of the population is up to date on their coronavirus vaccination as concern around the virus has dropped closer to levels of the common cold.

But the impacts for vulnerable populations are much higher than sneezes and sniffles with U.S. weekly deaths related to the virus still in the hundreds. The level of spread in King County is currently officially considered “low” but has spiked from around 15 cases per 100,000 residents in May to near 40 with the return of school and the end of summer. Those numbers only represent reported cases, of course. In recent spikes, the actual levels have been estimated to be much higher as people have become less likely to test for the virus.

The vaccination update will be a regular event. Like it does for the flu, the FDA provides guidelines each season to vaccine makers for a new recipe. This year, Pfizer, Moderna, and Novavax are targeting a single strain — XBB.1.5. The previous vaccines were mixed to take on a variety of now-outdated targets.

Officials say it is also safe and effective to double up with no difference in effectiveness or side effects if people get COVID and flu vaccines at the same time.

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