COVID-19 Booster Shot Guide COVID-19 Booster Shot Guide Overview Need for Boosters Why Might I Need a Booster? Should I Worry About Waning Antibodies? Are Booster Shots Common For Vaccines? Why Are COVID Booster Shots Controversial? Eligibility Am I Eligible for a Booster? When Can I Get a Booster? Can I Get a Booster if I'm Immunocompromised? Do I need a booster if I had a breakthrough infection? Safety & Effectiveness What Will Booster Side Effects Be Like? Can My Booster Be Different From My First COVID Shot? Will Boosters Be Tailored to COVID Variants? Accessibility Where Can I Get a Booster? Are Booster Shots Free? Can I Get a Booster Shot With My Flu Shot? What if I Already Laminated My Vaccine Card? By Anisa Arsenault Anisa Arsenault Anisa Arsenault is an editor at Verywell Health who works on condition-focused content and manages news. She previously managed news for TheBump.com. Learn about our editorial process Updated on March 15, 2023 Medically reviewed by Geetika Gupta, MD Medically reviewed by Geetika Gupta, MD Geetika Gupta, MD, is a board-certified internist working in primary care. She's been focused on the outpatient care of COVID-19 since 2020 and is based near Boston, Massachusetts. In the past, she was a primary care physician specializing in women’s health. She taught residents and medical students at Brown University in RI. Learn about our Medical Expert Board Print COVID-19 booster shots are here! The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends everyone 6 months and older get a bivalent booster if it has been at least two months since their last COVID-19 vaccine dose. The exception is children ages 6 months to 4 years who have received all three doses of the Pfizer primary series—they are not advised to get a booster. Instead, the bivalent vaccine is advised as the third dose in the primary series. Bivalent mRNA COVID-19 booster vaccines, also called "updated boosters," from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna received emergency use authorization (EUA) from the FDA. They are called "bivalent" because they protect against the original SARS-CoV-2 and the Omicron variants BA.4 and BA.5. The CDC recommends one bivalent booster shot for everyone ages 6 months and older, if eligible. Everyone 6 months and older is eligible to get one of the following four COVID-19 vaccines: Pfizer-BioNTech Moderna Johnson & Johnson's Janssen (J&J/Janssen) Novavax Regardless of which of the four primary series vaccines you receive, the CDC recommends everyone 6 months and older receive one updated bivalent booster shot if they're eligible. The type of booster shot you can get depends on your age, health status, and what vaccine you first received. In limited situations, a monovalent Novavax booster dose can be given to people ages 18 and older if they cannot receive an mRNA vaccine. For certain people who are immunocompromised, the CDC recommends an additional primary series dose of an mRNA vaccine (Moderna or Pfizer) plus an updated booster is recommended. Here, we asked experts what else we should know about boosters, from potential side effects to the intended rollout plan and timeframe. There's good news: After the bumpy road to COVID-19 vaccine distribution the first time around, the U.S. is more prepared than ever. The information in this article is current as of the date listed, which means newer information may be available when you read this. For the most recent updates on COVID-19, visit our coronavirus news page. 4 Sources Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Interim clinical considerations for use of COVID-19 vaccines currently approved or authorized in the United States. Link-Gelles R, Ciesla AA, Fleming-Dutra KE, et al. Effectiveness of bivalent mRNA vaccines in preventing symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection - increasing community access to testing program, United States, September-November 2022. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2022;71(48):1526-1530. doi:10.15585/mmwr.mm7148e1 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Use of COVID-19 vaccines in the U.S.: Appendices. Center for Disease Control and Prevention. COVID-19 vaccines for moderately to severely immunocompromised people. By Anisa Arsenault Anisa joined the company in 2018 after managing news surrounding fertility, pregnancy, and parenting for The Bump. Her health and wellness articles have appeared in outlets like Prevention and Metro US. At Verywell, she is responsible for the news program, which includes coverage of COVID-19. See Our Editorial Process Meet Our Medical Expert Board Share Feedback Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! What is your feedback? Other Helpful Report an Error Submit