Harney County Health Department, located at 420 N. Fairview in Burns, is now offering the newly improved Pfizer Bivalent Booster vaccine for ages 12 and older. Children 12 and younger will continue with the recommended original monovalent booster vaccine requirements by the CDC. The updated Pfizer booster is authorized for use at least two months following primary or booster vaccination. In addition to boosting immunity against the original coronavirus strain, this updated booster also protects against the newer Omicron variants that account for most current cases.

Harney County Health Department is also providing first-dose appointments for the JYNNEOS vaccine, which is approved for prevention of monkeypox (hMPXV). This is the primary monkeypox vaccine used in the United States.

The JYNNEOS vaccine is given as a two-dose series. Doses should be administered 28 days apart. Monkeypox is a contagious disease caused by the monkeypox virus. There is currently an outbreak of monkeypox in the United States and other countries where the virus usually doesn’t spread.

Anyone can get and spread monkeypox through close contact, often skin-to-skin. Current cases are primarily spreading through sex and other intimate contact.

Symptoms of monkeypox include a rash that can look like pimples or blisters, which appears on the face, inside the mouth, and on other parts of the body (such as the hands, feet, chest or genital region). Other symptoms include fever, headache, muscle aches, backache, swollen lymph nodes, chills, exhaustion, and respiratory symptoms like sore throat, nasal congestion, or cough.