Frequently Asked Questions about COVID-19 Vaccination

Some people can get additional doses of COVID-19 vaccine:

• People aged 65 years and older may get a 2nd dose of updated Pfizer BioNTech or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine 4 or more months after the 1st updated COVID-19 vaccine.
• People who are moderately or severely immunocompromised may get additional doses of updated Pfizer BioNTech or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine 2 or more months after the last updated COVID-19 vaccine.

Talk to your healthcare provider about additional updated doses.

You are up to date when you have received all COVID-19 vaccine dose(s) recommended for you by CDC. People are best protected when they “stay up to date” with COVID-19 vaccinations:

• Everyone 6 years and older
• Children aged 6 months – 5 years

“Fully vaccinated” is not the same as having the best protection that staying up to date provides. You were “fully vaccinated” when you had completed only a primary series based on your age, health status, and vaccine type. Thus, you can be “fully vaccinated” and not have completed all vaccine doses recommended for you, which is called “up to date”. Currently, only Novavax has a recommendation for a primary series.

Yes. COVID-19 vaccines are working well to prevent severe illness, hospitalization, and death. However, public health experts are seeing reduced protection over time against mild and moderate disease, especially among certain populations, which is why vaccination recommendations are updated.

People who first received a Novavax or J&J/Janssen COVID-19 vaccine are recommended to get an updated COVID-19 vaccine (Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna).

You may get a Novavax booster if you are unable or unwilling to receive an updated PfizerBioNTech or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine and you meet the following requirements:

• You are 18 years of age or older
• You completed a COVID-19 vaccine primary series at least 6 months ago
• You have not gotten any other booster dose

Additional information for how everyone can stay up to date.

Scientists are monitoring how long COVID-19 vaccine protection lasts. Recent data show that 1 dose of the updated COVID-19 vaccine better protects you against more serious illness, hospitalization, and death. People who have received the updated COVID-19 vaccine in recent months are better protected against severe illness from COVID-19 than those who have not gotten it.

CDC recommends everyone stay up to date with COVID-19 vaccines for their age group:

• Everyone 6 years and older
• Children aged 6 months – 5 years

To find a COVID-19 vaccination location near you, search vaccines.gov, text your ZIP code to 438829 (for English), or 882862 (for Spanish), or call 1-800-232-0233. Then, call or visit the vaccine provider’s website to make an appointment.

An employer may require that their workers be vaccinated. Check directly with your employer to see if they have any vaccination requirements or rules that apply to you.

Your provider cannot give you a dose of vaccine that does not follow its specific vaccine product guidelines and requirements. All COVID-19 vaccine providers in the United States must be enrolled in the CDC COVID-19 Vaccination Program. To participate in this program, vaccine providers sign an agreement that states they will only administer COVID-19 vaccines in accordance with program requirements and recommendations including those of CDC, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Your provider can refer to the CDC Interim Clinical Considerations for Use of COVID-19 Vaccines in the United States for specific information on administration of COVID-19 vaccines. These guidelines are based on safety and efficacy data and are updated as new information becomes available.

The COVID-19 vaccines for children have the same active ingredients as the vaccines given to adults. However, children receive a smaller and more age-appropriate dose that is right for them. The smaller doses were rigorously tested and found to create the needed immune response for each age group. Making it important for your child to get the vaccine made for their age group.

COVID-19 can make children and teens very sick and sometimes requires treatment in a hospital. Getting eligible children and teens vaccinated against COVID-19 can help keep them from getting really sick if they do get COVID-19, including protecting them from short and long-term complications and hospitalization. Vaccinating children can also help keep them in school or daycare and safely participating in sports, playdates, and other group activities.

The benefits of COVID-19 vaccination outweigh the known and potential risks. CDC recommends everyone stay up to date with COVID-19 vaccines for their age group:

• Children and teens ages 6 months–17 years
• Adults ages 18 years and older

Learn 6 Things About the COVID-19 Vaccine for Children.

Parents and caregivers should get their child vaccinated as soon as possible. Getting vaccinated provides the best protection against serious illness if a child gets infected with the virus that causes COVID-19.

However, if your child has recently had COVID-19, they still need to stay up to date with their vaccines, but you may consider delaying the next vaccine dose (whether a primary dose or booster) by 3 months from:

• when your symptoms started.
• Or, if they had no symptoms, when they first received a positive test.

Reinfection is less likely in the weeks to months after infection. However, certain factors could be reasons to get a vaccine sooner rather than later, such as:

• personal risk of severe disease,
• or risk of disease in a loved one or close contact,
• local COVID-19 hospital admission level,
• and the most common COVID-19 variant currently causing illness.

There is no federal legal requirement for a parent, guardian, or caregiver to consent for COVID-19 or any other vaccination.  However, depending on each state or local law, this does not mean that consent is not required for select age groups.  State or local laws and policies, as well as vaccine provider policies, around minor consent for vaccination have existed for a long time and will also apply to COVID-19 vaccination of children.

No. COVID-19 vaccines that are currently available do not use the live virus that causes COVID-19. These vaccines work by using a harmless piece of spike protein from the virus causing COVID-19 to teach the body how to fight the virus that causes it. The body then gets rid of the harmless spike protein within a few days after vaccination.

Adults and children may have some side effects from a COVID-19 vaccine, including pain, redness or swelling at the injection site, tiredness, headache, muscle pain, chills, fever, and nausea. Serious side effects are rare but may occur.

Yes. Updated COVID-19 vaccines use the same ingredients (formulation) as the original COVID-19 vaccines.

The updated vaccines are called “updated” because they protect against both the original virus that causes COVID-19 and the Omicron variant BA.4 and BA.5. Two COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers, Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, have developed updated COVID-19 vaccines.

Vaccine ingredients vary by manufacturer. None of the vaccines contain eggs, gelatin, latex, or preservatives. All COVID-19 vaccines are free from metals, such as iron, nickel, cobalt, lithium, and rare earth alloys. They are also free from manufactured products such as microelectronics, electrodes, carbon nanotubes, and nanowire semiconductors. None of the COVID-19 vaccines authorized or approved in the United States contain any live virus.

To learn more about the ingredients in authorized or approved COVID-19 vaccines, see

• Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine Overview and Safety
• Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine Overview and Safety
• Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine Overview and Safety
• Novavax COVID-19 Vaccine Overview and Safety
• Ingredients Included in COVID-19 Vaccines

Although COVID-19 vaccines were developed quickly, research and development on vaccines like these have been underway for decades. All vaccine development steps were taken to ensure COVID-19 vaccine safety and effectiveness, including:

• Clinical Trials – All vaccines in the United States must go through three phases of clinical trials to ensure they are safe and effective. The phases overlapped to speed up the process, but all phases were completed.
• Authorization or Approval – Before vaccines are available to people, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reviews data from clinical trials. FDA has determined COVID-19 vaccines meet FDA’s standards and has granted those vaccines Emergency Use Authorizations (EUAs) or full FDA approval.
• Tracking Safety Using Vaccine Monitoring Systems – Like every other vaccine approved for use in the United States, COVID-19 vaccines continue to be monitored for safety and effectiveness. Hundreds of millions of people in the United States have safely received COVID-19 vaccines. CDC and FDA continue to provide updated information on the safety of U.S. authorized or approved COVID-19 vaccines using data from several monitoring systems.

Learn more about developing COVID-19 vaccines.

Yes, COVID-19 vaccination is recommended for people who are pregnant, breastfeeding, or trying to get pregnant now, as well as people who might become pregnant in the future. People with COVID-19 during pregnancy are more likely to deliver a preterm (earlier than 37 weeks) or stillborn infant and may also be more likely to have other pregnancy complications.

COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy helps:

• Prevent severe illness and death in people who are pregnant
• Protect babies younger than 6 months old from hospitalization caused by COVID-19

Learn more about vaccination considerations and the safety and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccinations for people who are pregnant or breastfeeding.

If you are pregnant and have received a COVID-19 vaccine, we encourage you to enroll in v-safe, CDC’s smartphone-based system that provides personalized health check-ins after vaccination. A v-safe pregnancy registry has been established to gather information on the health of pregnant people who have received a COVID-19 vaccine.

Results from recent research studies show that people who menstruate may observe small, temporary changes in menstruation after COVID-19 vaccination, including:

• Longer duration of menstrual periods
• Shorter intervals between periods
• Heavier bleeding than usual

Despite these temporary changes in menstruation, there is no evidence that COVID-19 vaccines cause fertility problems.

Learn more about COVID-19 vaccination for people who would like to have a baby.

You should get a COVID-19 vaccine even if you already had COVID-19.

Getting a COVID-19 vaccine after you recover from COVID-19 infection provides added protection against COVID-19. You may consider delaying your vaccine by 3 months from when your symptoms started or, if you had no symptoms, when you received a positive test.

People who already had COVID-19 and do not get vaccinated after their recovery are more likely to get COVID-19 again than those who get vaccinated after their recovery.

Learn more about the benefits of getting a COVID-19 vaccine.

No. You should wait to be vaccinated until after you complete your isolation period. People who have symptoms will end isolation at a different time than people who do not have symptoms. This also applies to people who have been vaccinated but get COVID-19 before getting any additional or booster doses. Additionally, you may consider delaying your next vaccine by 3 months from when your symptoms started or, if you had no symptoms, when you received a positive test.

People who have had a known COVID-19 exposure should not seek vaccination until their quarantine period has ended to avoid potentially exposing healthcare personnel and others during the vaccination visit. This recommendation to wait also applies to people with a known COVID-19 exposure who have received their first dose and need additional doses.

Learn more about how to stay up to date with your COVID-19 vaccines.

Yes, depending on your age,  you can choose which type of COVID-19 vaccine to get.

Learn more about which vaccine is available by age and how to stay up to date with your COVID-19 vaccination.

There is no recommended waiting period between getting a COVID-19 vaccine and other vaccines. You can get a COVID-19 vaccine and other vaccines, including a flu vaccine, at the same visit. Experience with other vaccines has shown that the way our bodies develop protection, known as an immune response, and possible side effects after getting vaccinated are generally the same when given alone or with other vaccines.

COVID-19 vaccination significantly lowers your risk of severe illness, hospitalization, and death if you get infected. Compared to people who are up to date with their COVID-19 vaccinations, unvaccinated people are more likely to get COVID-19, much more likely to be hospitalized with COVID-19, and much more likely to die from COVID-19.

Like all vaccines, COVID-19 vaccines are not 100% effective at preventing infection. People who are up to date with their COVID-19 vaccinations may still get a COVID-19 infection after vaccination. However, staying up to date with your COVID-19 vaccinations means that you are less likely to have a breakthrough infection and, if you do get sick, you are less likely to get severely ill or die. Staying up to date with COVID-19 vaccination also means you are less likely to spread the disease to others and increases your protection against new variants of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.

If you have lost your CDC COVID-19 Vaccination card or don’t have a copy of it, contact your vaccination provider directly to request a new vaccination card. They may be able to reissue a CDC COVID-19 Vaccination card.

• If you cannot contact your vaccination provider directly or your vaccination provider cannot reissue a CDC COVID-19 Vaccination card, contact your state health department’s immunization information system (IIS). Your state’s IIS cannot issue you a vaccination card, but they can provide a digital or paper copy of your full vaccination record, including your COVID-19 vaccinations.
• If you need another COVID-19 vaccine dose and are unable to get a copy of your vaccination card or vaccination record, talk to a vaccination provider to learn about your possible options.
• Some vaccination providers and health departments may offer you access to a QR code or digital copy of your CDC COVID-19 Vaccination card in addition to giving you a physical card. Contact your vaccination provider or local health department to learn if you can get a digital copy of your card.

CDC does not provide the white CDC COVID-19 Vaccination card to people and does not maintain vaccination records. CDC distributes the white CDC COVID-19 Vaccination cards to vaccination providers and only a vaccination provider can give you this card.

Generally, if you are up to date on your COVID-19 vaccinations, you do not need to wear a mask in outdoor settings. Check your local COVID-19 hospital admission level for recommendations on when to wear a mask indoors and additional precautions you can take to protect yourself from COVID-19. If you are immunocompromised or more likely to get very sick from COVID-19, learn more about how to protect yourself.

It depends on a number of factors. Learn more about Vaccination Received Outside the United States.

The white CDC COVID-19 vaccination cards are only issued to people vaccinated in the United States. However, there are several ways you can update your records with vaccines you received while outside the United States. Learn more about Vaccination Received Outside the United States.