Staying Up to Date with COVID-19 Vaccines (2024)

Vaccines you may need

Recommendations for Everyone Aged 5 Years and Older

Everyone aged 5 years and older ‡ should get 1 dose of an updated COVID-19 vaccine to protect against serious illness from COVID-19. None of the updated 2023-2024 COVID-19 vaccines is preferred over another.

Children aged 5 years – 11 years who are not vaccinated or have gotten previous COVID-19 vaccine(s)

Children aged 5 years – 11 years who are unvaccinated or have previously gotten a COVID-19 vaccine before September 12, 2023, should get 1 updated Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine.

People aged 12 years and older who are not vaccinated

People aged 12 years and older who are unvaccinated should get either:

More details: Up to Date

People aged 12 years and older who got previous COVID-19 vaccine(s)

People aged 12 years and older who got Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna COVID-19 vaccines before September 12, 2023, or Novavax COVID-19 vaccine before October 3, 2023, should get 1 updated Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, or Novavax COVID-19 vaccine.

People Aged 65 years and Older

People aged 65 years and older who have not previously received any COVID-19 vaccine doses and choose to get Novavax should get 2 doses of updated Novavax vaccine, followed by 1 additional dose of any updated 2023–2024 COVID-19 vaccine to be up to date.

Recommendations for Children Aged 6 Months – 4 Years

Children Who Are Not Vaccinated

Children aged 6 months–4 years should get two or three doses of updated COVID-19 vaccine depending on which vaccine they receive.

Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine:

Note: Children this age may receive Moderna vaccines after the first or second Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine in some situations.

More Details: Up to Date and Pfizer-BioNTech Vaccine Overview

Moderna vaccine:

Note: Children this age may receive Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines after the first Moderna vaccine in some situations.

More details: Up to Date and Moderna Vaccine Overview

Children Who Got Previous COVID-19 Vaccine(s)

Children aged 6 months–4 years who got COVID-19 vaccines before September 12, 2023, should get one or two doses of updated COVID-19 vaccine depending on which vaccine and the number of doses they’ve previously received.

If you received one previous dose of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine:

If you received two or more previous doses of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine:

Note: Children this age may receive Moderna vaccines after the first or second Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine in some situations.

More details: Up to Date and Pfizer-BioNTech Vaccine Overview

If you received one previous dose of Moderna vaccine:

If you received two or more previous doses of the Moderna vaccine:

Note: Children this age may receive Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines after the first Moderna vaccine in some situations.

More details: Up to Date and Moderna Vaccine Overview

Recommendation for People Who May Get Additional Updated COVID-19 Vaccines

People ages 65 years and older should receive 1 additional dose of any updated (2023–2024 formula) COVID-19 vaccine (i.e., Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, or Novavax) at least 4 months following the previous dose of updated (2023–2024 Formula) COVID-19 vaccine.

People aged 65 years and older who have not previously received any COVID-19 vaccine doses and choose to get Novavax should get 2 doses of updated Novavax vaccine, followed by 1 additional dose of any updated 2023–2024 COVID-19 vaccine to be up to date.

When Are You Up to Date?

People aged 5 – 64 years

You are up to date when you get 1 age-appropriate updated COVID-19 vaccine.‡

Children aged 6 months – 4 years

You are up to date when you get all recommended doses, including at least 1 dose of updated COVID-19 vaccine.

People aged 65 years and older

You are up to date when you have received 2 updated 2023–2024 COVID-19 vaccine doses.

People aged 65 and older who have not previously received any COVID-19 vaccine doses and choose to get Novavax should get 2 doses of updated Novavax vaccine, followed by 1 additional dose of any updated 2023–2024 COVID-19 vaccine to be up to date.

People who got the Johnson & Johnson/Janssen COVID-19 vaccine

You are up to date when you get 1 updated COVID-19 vaccine.

How Well COVID-19 Vaccines Work

• People who are up to date have lower risk of severe illness, hospitalization and death from COVID-19 than people who are unvaccinated or who have not completed the doses recommended for them by CDC.
• Additional updated COVID-19 vaccine doses can help restore protection that has decreased since previous vaccination.
• CDC will continue to provide updates as we learn more

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 best protected from COVID-19 when you stay up to date with the recommended vaccinations.

COVID-19 vaccines currently recommended for use in the United States:

• Updated Pfizer-BioNTech
• Updated Moderna
• Updated Novavax

As of October 3, 2023, the 2023-2024 updated Novavax vaccine was recommended by CDC for use in the United States.

As of September 12, 2023, the 2023–2024 updated Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines were recommended by CDC for use in the United States.

The 2023–2024 updated COVID-19 vaccines more closely targets the XBB lineage of the Omicron variant and could restore protection against severe COVID-19 that may have decreased over time. We anticipate the updated vaccines will be better at fighting currently circulating variants.

There is no preferential recommendation for the use of any one COVID-19 vaccine over another when more than one licensed or authorized, recommended, and age-appropriate vaccine is available.

Vaccine Considerations

Getting Vaccines If You Recently Had COVID-19

If you recently had COVID-19, you still need to stay up to date with your vaccines, but you may consider delaying your vaccine by 3 months.

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
• Risk of disease in a family or household member or other close contact
• Local levels of COVID-19 illness in your area
• And the most common COVID-19 variant currently causing illness

Vaccination Received Outside the United States

Learn more about the recommendations for people vaccinated outside of the United States.

Resources

For Healthcare and Public Health

Use of COVID-19 Vaccines in the United States: Interim Clinical Considerations