Vaccine Booster Shots FAQs

Yes. Booster shots of the Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson (J&J) COVID-19 vaccines have been approved for certain groups who previously received the full first series of those vaccines. That is, it is available for certain people who received the first two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines or a single dose of the J&J vaccine. The boosters are approved under the FDA’s Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) process, which allows safe and effective medicines to be deployed on an accelerated schedule during a public health emergency such as the current COVID-19 pandemic. This is the same process that was used initially to approve the initial doses of each of these vaccines.

Individuals who received the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines are eligible to get a booster shot six months or more after completing the first two doses of those vaccines if they are:

• 65 years and older.
• Age 18 and older who have certain underlying medical conditions (detailed below).
• Age 18 and older who live in long-term care settings.
• Age 18 and older who work in high-risk settings.
• Age 18 and older who live in high-risk settings.

For people 65 and older, 50-64 years old with underlying medical conditions and 18 and older residing in a long-term care setting, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) goes a step beyond saying they are eligible and affirmatively recommends that they get the booster shot. That is because people in these group are at increased risk of severe illness and, in the case of people living in long-term care settings, increased risk of infection. For others in the list above, CDC says they may get the booster shot after considering their individual benefits and risks.

Individuals 18 and older who received the J&J vaccine are eligible to get a booster shot two months or more after receiving the first dose of that vaccine. Unlike with people who received the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines, there are no other limitations on who has been recommended to get a booster shot. In other words, all J&J vaccine recipients are eligible for a booster.

According to the CDC, underlying medical conditions include:

People age 18 and older are eligible for the booster if they work or live in high-risk settings where they frequently may be exposed to the coronavirus and therefore are put at high-risk of serious complications from the disease. The CDC has not issued a list of qualifying settings that limits who can receive the booster. Instead, the CDC has provided examples of settings and jobs that qualify. 

Examples of work and residential settings that make individuals eligible for Pfizer-BioNTech booster shots include:

• Health care.
• Schools.
• Correctional facilities.
• Homeless shelters.

Examples of workers who may get Pfizer-BioNTech booster shots include:

• First responders (e.g., healthcare workers, firefighters, police, congregate care staff).
• Education staff (e.g., teachers, support staff, daycare workers).
• Corrections workers.
• Public transit workers.
• U.S. Postal Service workers.
• Food and agriculture workers.
• Grocery store workers.
• Manufacturing workers.

No. According to the CDC, individuals may choose which vaccine they get as a booster shot. For example, if your initial vaccine was the J&J, you can choose any of the three authorized vaccines for your booster. That is, you can choose to get the Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna or J&J vaccine. It’s up to you. Each of the boosters is a single shot.

The Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and J&J boosters are available broadly throughout the country at any vaccine provider that is administering these vaccines. This includes pharmacies, doctor’s offices and other providers that are administering COVID-19 vaccines. You may want to call your local provider in advance to make sure that they have your preferred vaccine in stock.

No. COVID-19 vaccines are working well to prevent severe illness, hospitalization and death, even against the widely circulating Delta variant. However, public health experts are starting to see reduced protection, especially among certain populations, against mild and moderate disease, as was expected. The boosters have been shown to provide a benefit in maintaining high levels of protection.