Updated 2024 COVID-19 vaccines arrive at Bay Area pharmacies amid surge

New COVID vaccines have arrived at some pharmacies in the Bay Area, with the updated shots targeting the new variant that fueled a summer surge. Timing was crucial for some patients receiving the new vaccine.  
Residents in the East Bay were one of the first people to receive the newer COVID-19 vaccine.
“So far so good, no reaction,” Pascal Kouromenos, who received the vaccine on Wednesday, told CBS News Bay Area.
The CVS Pharmacy along the 1400 block of Shattuck Avenue in Berkeley was one of the first few pharmacies nationwide to have received the newest shipment.
“All of our patients when they come in, they’re asking when’s the new vaccine coming in? So, they’ve been waiting for this,” James Lee, CVS Pharmacy District Leader, said.
The FDA had recently approved this newer Pfizer and Moderna vaccine for the fall season. Health officials say it’s designed to target the most recent FLiRT variants that have become dominant this summer.
“I feel fine, I’ve had every vaccine possible… And I believe that everybody should get vaccinated,” said Susan Kleinstein, who also got her vaccine on Wednesday.
The Centers for Disease Control reported that a little more than 22% of American adults received the most recent shot as of May, compared to 85% in Dec. 2021.
While many people have moved on from COVID-19, wastewater levels have been very high in California for months. Getting vaccinated is not so much a luxury, but a matter of life or death for those who are immunocompromised.
“The COVID vaccine, the new high-tech MRNA vaccines, take advantage of our immune system and the immune memory to help you fight COVID. However, you do need an intact or relatively intact immune system to actually be able to take advantage of this fully,” Dr. James Lee, assistant professor and attending physician at UCSF, told CBS News Bay Area.
Lee, a medical oncologist, said patients who have weakened immune systems, including those undergoing chemotherapy, need to be extra vigilant with vaccine timing.
“You actually want to time it as much as you can with your oncologist to avoid the time where your white blood cells are expected to be the lowest,” he said.
Meanwhile, those who rolled up their sleeves to get the newest vaccine Wednesday are encouraging others to do the same.
“You could get COVID and you could get lung infections and all kinds of problems. So it’s best that we all get immunized,” Kleinstein said.