Dear Marblehead Families,

Thanks again to all of our patients and families who came to one of our two drive-through flu vaccine clinics. It was another celebrated successful year for us to help protect your children’s health. If you were not able to make it, we will continue to have influenza vaccines throughout the flu season for all our patients 6+ months of age or older.

Last month, the newest Covid-19 vaccine was approved for use. This vaccine is a monovalent vaccine designed to prevent severe disease from Omicron XBB.1.5 subvariant. This vaccine is different than the last bivalent Covid-19 vaccine which was introduced in the fall of 2022 and targeted the BA.4 and BA.5 Omicron subvariants as well as the original SARS-CoV-2 virus. This new monovalent booster is available for all patients age 6+ months to 18 years of age. Please note that if you are 19+ years of age, we have not been allocated Covid-19 vaccines that can be used for your age range. Please consider utilizing your local CVS or Walgreen’s pharmacy.

Finally, many families have been hearing about the newest RSV injection called Beyfortus for infants age 0-8 months of age. If you haven’t heard, a link to the John’s Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health which is an excellent summary for the topic can be found here. Although AstraZeneca and Sanofi were aiming for a roll out date of Oct. 16, 2023, the Massachusetts State VFC program has not received any Beyfortus to distribute to any hospital/clinic/private practice including our own. We will continue to be in contact with our state VFC program and continue to provide updates.

Marblehead Pediatrics