COVID-19 INFORMATION

Stay Up to Date with COVID-19 Vaccines Including Boosters

What You Need to Know.

Updated (bivalent) boosters became available on:
- September 2, 2022, for people aged 12 years and older
- October 12, 2022, for people aged 5–11 years
- December 9, 2022, for children aged 6 months–4 years who completed the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine primary series
Updated (bivalent) Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine also became available on December 9, 2022 for children aged 6 months–4 years to complete the primary series.
CDC recommends everyone stay up to date with COVID-19 vaccines for their age group:
- Children and teens aged 6 months–17 years
- Adults aged 18 years and older
Getting a COVID-19 vaccine after you have recovered from COVID-19 infection provides added protection against COVID-19.
People who are moderately or severely immunocompromised have different recommendations for COVID-19 vaccines.
COVID-19 vaccine and booster recommendations may be updated as CDC continues to monitor the latest COVID-19 data.

About COVID-19 Vaccines

COVID-19 vaccines available in the United States are effective at protecting people from getting seriously ill, being hospitalized, and dying. As with other vaccine-preventable diseases, you are protected best from COVID-19 when you stay up to date with the recommended vaccinations, including recommended boosters.

Four COVID-19 vaccines are approved or authorized in the United States:

Pfizer-BioNTech
Moderna
Novavax
Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen (J&J/Janssen) (CDC recommends that the J&J/Janssen COVID-19 vaccine only be considered in certain situations, due to safety concerns.)

Updated (Bivalent) Boosters

The updated (bivalent) boosters are called “bivalent” because they protect against both the original virus that causes COVID-19 and the Omicron variant BA.4 and BA.5.

Previous boosters are called “monovalent” because they were designed to protect against the original virus that causes COVID-19. They also provide some protection against Omicron, but not as much as the updated (bivalent) boosters.

The virus that causes COVID-19 has changed over time. The different versions of the virus that have developed over time are called variants.

Two COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers, Pfizer and Moderna, have developed updated (bivalent) COVID-19 boosters.

When Are You Up to Date?

You are up to date with your COVID-19 vaccines when you have completed a COVID-19 vaccine primary series and got the most recent booster dose recommended for you by CDC.

If you have completed your primary series—but are not yet eligible for a booster—you are also considered up to date.
If you become ill with COVID-19 after you received all COVID-19 vaccine doses recommended for you, you are also considered up to date. You do not need to be revaccinated or receive an additional booster.

COVID-19 vaccine recommendations are based on three things:

Your age
The vaccine you first received, and
The length of time since your last dose

People who are moderately or severely immunocompromised have different recommendations for COVID-19 vaccines.