photo by: Kevin Anderson/Journal-World File Photo

The Lawrence-Douglas County health department's home at the Community Health Facility, 200 Maine St., is pictured in this file photo from July 2010.

With the authorization of a new COVID-19 booster dose at the beginning of September, Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health is advising people with an existing booster appointment to hold off and reschedule.

The new booster, instead of being “monovalent,” is “bivalent.” That means it contains half the original vaccine that’s been in use since December of 2020, but also includes a vaccine mixture designed to provide protection against the dominant omicron subvariants of today, BA.4 and BA.5.

Per the health department, the previous monovalent vaccines are no longer authorized as booster doses for individuals 12 years of age and older due to the new booster recommendation. Booster doses for children 12 and younger remain unchanged.

In a social media post Wednesday, the health department noted that updated booster doses won’t be available through Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health for a “little while,” but in the meantime clients can call 785-843-0721 for more information about rescheduling.