Schedule COVID-19 Vaccine | Walgreens (2024)

FAQs

How much time between COVID-19 vaccine doses? ›

An 8-week interval between the first and second COVID-19 vaccine (Moderna, Novavax, and Pfizer-BioNTech) doses might be optimal for some people as it might reduce the small risk of myocarditis and pericarditis associated with these vaccines.

The Moderna, Pfizer-BioNTech, and Novavax vaccines protect against many known variants of COVID-19. The Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines offer immunity against COVID-19 for up to six months. To increase protection, getting an updated COVID-19 vaccine is now recommended for everyone six months and older.

CDC recommends the 2023–2024 updated COVID-19 vaccines—Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, or Novavax—to protect against serious illness from COVID-19. Everyone aged 5 years and older ‡ should get 1 dose of an updated COVID-19 vaccine to protect against serious illness from COVID-19.

Pfizer: Is There a “Best” mRNA Vaccine? Both of the mRNA vaccines available in the US are highly effective against severe COVID-19, but recent studies suggest that Moderna's elicits a stronger immune response and might be better at preventing breakthrough infections.

All primary doses should be given at least 8 weeks apart. A person may be vaccinated 3 to 4 weeks after their last primary dose in exceptional circ*mstances.

The first two doses are administered three weeks apart. The third dose is administered at least 8 weeks after the second dose.

The immune response from a COVID-19 infection usually tamps down after 3-4 months, says Kawsar Talaat, MD, a vaccinologist and associate professor in the Department of International Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland.

Some viruses are relatively huge while others are tiny in comparison, some use RNA while others use DNA—they are very, very different organisms.” Yancey said that for vaccines that “last a lifetime,” which include vaccines for measles or hepatitis B, the viruses themselves tend to be uniform when they replicate.

For example, says Mallory Shillinger, D.O., a Piedmont primary care physician, vaccinated people often have “a fever for one or two days, along with fatigue, a sore throat and dry cough that can last three to five days. Also, a loss of taste and smell that can linger for two to three weeks.”

The new 2024-25 COVID-19 vaccines will come out in August and September, and health experts hope a much higher percentage of Americans will decide to get an annual COVID-19 vaccine this fall and winter than did last year since vaccines protect well against hospitalization and death.

What are the side effects of the COVID booster 2024? ›

“The short answer is yes,” says Saju Mathew, M.D., a Piedmont primary care physician. “The long answer is that unless 85% of Americans get the vaccine, we are not even going to get close to ending the pandemic.”

How safe is the updated COVID vaccine? COVID vaccines are safe and effective, according to the CDC. The safety of COVID vaccines has been rigorously monitored and evaluated since their emergency use authorization (EUA) in December 2020.

Possible side effects: Pain, redness, or swelling at the site where the shot was administered, and/or tiredness, headache, muscle pain, chills, fever, or nausea throughout the rest of the body. If these side effects occur, they should go away in a few days. A few side effects are serious, but rare.

A booster shot with the Moderna vaccine offered older people better protection against COVID-19 if they had previously taken Pfizer jabs, researchers at the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID) have found.

Currently, most experts recommend two weeks' separation between receiving the flu and COVID vaccines and the RSV vaccine, which is recommended for people 60 or older and certain immunocompromised individuals.

a complete primary course is two primary doses either 8 or 12 weeks apart – this interval between doses depends on age and whether someone is immunosuppressed ie has a weakened immune system; a small number of people with certain medical conditions also require a third primary dose to complete the 'primary course'.

A two-dose Moderna COVID-19 vaccine series is recommended for children ages 6 months through 5 years under the FDA's Emergency Use Authorization (EUA). The doses should be given 28-days apart.

ACIP recommends new 2024-2025 COVID-19 vaccines as authorized by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for everyone 6 months of age and older. FDA recently recommended that vaccine manufacturers use the KP. 2 variant of the JN. 1 lineage, if feasible, for fall vaccines, to more closely match circulating variants.