Honolulu, HAWAII — About 77% of Hawaii’s population is now fully vaccinated against COVID. But only about half of those people went back to get their first booster doses.

And just 15% got their second booster, which is restricted to those at higher risk of severe disease.

Now, state health officials hope a new COVID shot on the horizon will drum up excitement ― and get people to lift up their sleeve as the Omicron variant continues to circulate widely in the community.

“Everyone in Hawaii over the age of 50 is eligible for a second booster shot as long as they received their first booster shot more than four months ago,” said Department of Health spokesperson Brookes Baehr.

Baehr said there is a lot of buzz around the new bivalent vaccine.

It was made to specifically target Omicron and the strains that are responsible for most of the cases in Hawaii.

“So just this week, we placed a pre-order for more than 16,000 of these by bivalent vaccines ― both the Pfizer and the Moderna,” said Baehr. “And next week, we expect to place another pre-order.”

Read more at Hawaii News Now