Health experts urge staying up to date with COVID vaccines and boosters as BA.5 variant spreads

PHILADELPHIA - The Biden Administration is urging people to stay up-to-date on COVID vaccines. It comes as what experts are calling the most immune evasive variant begins to spread nationwide.

Health experts are say don’t panic, but be prepared. As adults grapple with whether to get boosted, the Please Touch Museum turned into the perfect place for kids to roll up their sleeves and get their first COVID shot.

"The fact that there are vaccine clinics out there, go for it. It’s awesome. It’s the right thing to do," Dr. Mike Cerigliano, with the University of Pennsylvania, explained. "If you haven’t been vaccinated, get vaccinated. The BA.5 variant is very contagious, but we have ways to deal with it."

Dr. Mike says even if a person has had COVID, people of all ages should get vaccinated and boosted. And, though it doesn’t seem as deadly as other variants in the past, BA.5 is highly contagious.

"You just have to be smart. We don’t panic. We don’t fear it. We deal with it in an educated way," Dr. Mike said. "It’s the best way to prevent you from getting seriously ill."

Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia is sponsoring children’s vaccination clinics at the end of July and August at the Philadelphia Zoo.