President Joe Biden addressed the nation in a press briefing yesterday, Nov. 29, calling for Americans to get vaccinated before the newly dubbed omicron variant makes its way onto American shores. Official White House Photo by Adam Schultz

As countries around the world reach to grasp an understanding of how quickly the new COVID-19 variant dubbed ‘omicron’ will spread and just how dangerous the new variant may become, the Mississippi State Department of Health recently announced increased accessibility for all three types of vaccine boosters.

Any medically qualifying Mississippian over 18 may now receive a Pfizer, Moderna or Johnson & Johnson vaccine. For Pfizer and Moderna boosters, recipients must have completed two doses and their second dose must have been at least six months prior to receiving a booster.

For Johnson & Johnson, recipients must wait at least two months since receiving their single dose. More information on booster doses is available here.

MSDH’s move to lower booster requirements comes as Pfizer is expected to request authorization to provide booster doses to even younger Americans—those ages 16 and 17.

That authorization is expected to receive approval quickly, as President Joe Biden called his administration’s recent travel bans a move to buy time to get Americans vaccinated.

“While travel restrictions can slow the speed of omicron, it cannot prevent it,” Biden said in a press briefing yesterday. “But here's what it does: It gives us time. It gives us time to take more actions, to move quicker, to make sure people understand, ‘You have to get your vaccine, you have to get the shot, you have to get the booster.’”

“Sooner or later, we're going to see cases of this new variant here in the United States,” Biden said. The President called the new variant a “cause for concern, not a cause for panic.”

New information shows that omicron had spread both earlier and wider than was previously thought. Both Japan and France have now reported confirmed cases of the omicron variant. New data from the Netherlands, Belgium and France as well shows cases of the new variant before those countries put travel bans in place, indicating earlier spread than previously thought.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have not indicated any spread in the United States so far, nor has MSDH confirmed any cases in Mississippi, though MSDH urges Mississippians to get vaccinated to prevent another record-high number of December cases this year.

“Last year COVID-19 cases surged to record highs in December,” an MSDH statement read via twitter yesterday. “Make this year different: Get vaccinated, avoid indoor crowds, and remember to use a mask in public. These are preventive steps that work.”

Email Reporting Fellow Julian Mills at [email protected].