Cook County Public Health and Human Services and Sawtooth Mountain Clinic have scheduled Bivalent COVID-19 booster clinics at the Cook County Community Center for September 29, October 4, and October 6. Registration will open on the Cook County COVID-19 hub at www.cookcountycovid19.org at 10 a.m. on Friday September 9. Grand Portage Health Services will not be offering the bivalent vaccine at this time.

This follows last week’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommendation that all people ages 12 and older receive a bivalent booster at least two months past their last booster or their initial vaccination series. These events will use the bivalent Pfizer booster, which is approved and recommended even if you received Moderna or the J&J vaccine in the past. People ages 12 years and older are recommended to receive one age-appropriate bivalent mRNA booster dose after completion of their primary series or previously received monovalent booster dose(s). 

The updated bivalent booster helps protect against the original COVID-19 strain as well as against newer Omicron variants. Omicron variants are now responsible for almost all local COVID-19 cases. 

“Getting your booster helps restore protection against COVID-19 that has decreased since your previous vaccinations and helps provide broader protection against newer variants,” stated Grace Grinager, Cook County Public Health Supervisor. She added, “these vaccines are both safe and effective at protecting people from becoming severely ill with COVID-19 as we head into the fall and winter months, lessening the burden on our healthcare system which continues to be stressed.”

CDC recommends everyone get and stay up to date with COVID-19 vaccination. This means everyone:

• Age 6 months through 4 years receive all COVID-19 primary dose series

• Age 5 years and older should get all COVID-19 primary dose series, plus the most recent booster recommended for them

• Age 12 years and older with primary series, primary series + one booster, or primary series + two boosters are recommended one bivalent booster dose two months after their most recent vaccine 

Bivalent COVID-19 booster for people ages 12 and older are the only type of COVID-19 vaccines that will be offered at the events on September 29, October 4, and October 6.  

If you have questions about which vaccinations are recommended for you or would like to register for the COVID-19 primary dose series for yourself or your child, please call Sawtooth Mountain Clinic at (218)387-2330. Local registration for the upcoming booster events is available on the Cook County COVID-19 Hub Site at http://www.cookcountycovid19.org. More events will be added at additional vaccination sites in the coming days and weeks to best meet community demand.

About Cook County, MN

Cook County encompasses the sovereign nation of the Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa; the City of Grand Marais; the Townships of Lutsen, Tofte and Schroeder; and unincorporated areas in the easternmost part of Minnesota’s North Shore. Cook County Government values transparency and strives to deliver superior services and programs in a fiscally responsible way. We value the dignity of all County residents and seek to create a community that provides opportunity for all. Many of our offices are in the Cook County Courthouse at 411 W 2nd St, Grand Marais 55604. Other departments and facilities, such as the Airport, Community Center, Highway and Sheriff are located nearby. Call 218-387-3000 or visit: https://co.cook.mn.us