Updated COVID-19 booster shots are on their way to western Washington, with tens of thousands of doses arriving as early as this week.

King County is expected to get about 92,000 doses of the updated bivalent vaccines over the next few weeks, according to Public Health – Seattle & King County Director Dr. Jeff Duchin.

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Of those doses, 30,000 could arrive at local healthcare providers and pharmacies as soon as this week.

“These updated vaccines are now recommended to improve the duration and strength of protection against today’s COVID-19 variants,” said Duchin. “There’s also reason to believe that they will provide broader protection against future strains that may evolve but that is not known with certainty.”

An initial allocation of 191,100 doses are expected to arrive at providers throughout the state beginning this week, with more doses arriving in the following weeks, according to the state department of health.

Anyone aged 12 or older is eligible for the new booster if at least two months have passed since receiving their first two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine or their last booster shot.

King County’s vaccination site at the Auburn Outlet Collection is expected to begin offering the updated booster vaccine on Friday and walk-in appointments will be available.

The county’s Eastgate Public Health Center vaccination site will begin offering the updated shots next week.

Healthcare providers across the county are also expected to begin offering the booster over the next two weeks, including UW Medicine, which currently has a waitlist to schedule an appointment at its three vaccination sites.

DOH is urging the public to be patient in the coming weeks, as demand for the updated booster doses is expected to exceed the inventory available.

More information about the updated booster vaccines including where to find a vaccination site near you is available on the DOH website.

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