COVID-19 Vaccine Booster Shots

Choosing Your COVID-19 Booster Shot

If you are 18 years or older you may choose which COVID-19 vaccine you receive as a booster shot. Some people may prefer the vaccine type that they originally received, and others may prefer to get a different booster. CDC’s recommendations now allow for this type of mix and match dosing for booster shots.

Scheduling Your Booster Shot

If you need help scheduling your booster shot, contact the location that set up your previous appointment. If you need to get your booster shot in a location different from where you received your previous shot, there are several ways you can find a vaccine provider.

What to Expect during and after Your Booster Shot Appointment

• Bring your CDC COVID-19 Vaccination Record card to your booster shot appointment so your provider can fill in the information about your booster dose. If you did not receive a card at your first appointment, contact the vaccination site where you got your first shot or your state health department to find out how you can get a card.
• You may experience side effects after getting a COVID-19 vaccine. These are normal signs that your body is building protection against COVID-19.
• Use v-safe to tell CDC about any side effects. If you enter your booster shot in your v-safe account, the system will send you daily health check-ins.

If You Were Vaccinated Outside of the United States

If you completed a Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, or J&J/Janssen COVID-19 vaccine primary series outside of the United States you should follow the guidance above for booster shots. 

Otherwise, if you were vaccinated abroad with other COVID-19 vaccines you can get a booster shot if you are 18 years or older and you either: 

• Received all the recommended doses of a World Health Organization emergency use listing (WHO-EUL) COVID-19 vaccineexternal icon, not approved or authorized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) 
• Or completed a mix and match series composed of any combination of FDA-approved, FDA-authorized, or WHO-EUL COVID-19 vaccines 

If you meet the above requirements you can get a single booster shot of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at least 6 months after getting all recommended doses or completing a mix and match COVID-19 vaccine series.

Frequently Asked Questions

Data Supporting Need for a Booster Shot

Although COVID-19 vaccination remains effective in preventing severe disease, recent data pdf icon[1 MB, 68 pages] suggest vaccination becomes less effective over time, especially in people aged 65 years and older and at preventing infection or milder illness with symptoms.

• The recent emergence of the Omicron variant (B.1.1.529) further emphasizes the importance of vaccination, boosters, and prevention efforts needed to protect against COVID-19. Early data from South Africa suggest increased transmissibility of the Omicron variant and the potential for immune evasion.
• Recent evidence also shows that among healthcare and other frontline workers, vaccine effectiveness against COVID-19 infection is also decreasing over time.
• This lower effectiveness is likely due to the combination of decreasing protection as time passes since getting vaccinated, as well as the greater infectiousness of the Delta variant.

Data from clinical trials showed that a booster shot increased the immune response in trial participants who finished a Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna primary series 6 months earlier or who received a J&J/Janssen single-dose vaccine 2 months earlier. With an increased immune response, people should have improved protection against getting infected with COVID-19, including the Delta variant. For Pfizer-BioNTech and J&J/Janssen, clinical trials also showed that a booster shot helped prevent COVID-19 with symptoms.