COVID-19
INFORMATION

Although COVID-19 vaccines were developed quickly, research and development on vaccines like these have been underway for decades. All vaccine development steps were taken to ensure COVID-19 vaccine safety and effectiveness, including:

• Clinical Trials – All vaccines in the United States must go through three phases of clinical trials to ensure they are safe and effective. The phases overlapped to speed up the process, but all phases were completed.
• Authorization or Approval – Before vaccines are available to people, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reviews data from clinical trials. FDA has determined three COVID-19 vaccines meet FDA’s standards and has granted those vaccines Emergency Use Authorizations (EUAs) or full FDA approval.
• Tracking Safety Using Vaccine Monitoring Systems – Like every other vaccine approved for use in the United States, COVID-19 vaccines continue to be monitored for safety and effectiveness. Hundreds of millions of people in the United States have safely received COVID-19 vaccines. CDC and FDA continue to provide updated information on the safety of U.S. authorized or approved COVID-19 vaccines using data from several monitoring systems.

Learn more about developing COVID-19 vaccines.

The CDC recommends COVID-19 primary series vaccines for everyone ages 6 months and older, and COVID-19 boosters for everyone ages 5 years and older, if eligible. Use the CDC’s COVID-19 booster tool to determine when or if you (or your child) can get one or more COVID-19 boosters.

If you are under 18 years old, a parent or guardian must accompany you to your appointment otherwise you will not be vaccinated.

The CDC recommends everyone ages 6 months and older get vaccinated against COVID-19. Everyone 5 years and older should also get a COVID-19 booster, if eligible. Use the CDC’s COVID-19 booster tool to learn if and when your child or teen can get boosters to stay up to date with their COVID-19 vaccines.

Children get a smaller dose of COVID-19 vaccine than teens and adults that is the right amount for their age group. COVID-19 vaccine dosage is based on age on the day of vaccination, not on size or weight.

Children and teens who have already had COVID-19 should still get vaccinated. Ongoing study of data show evidence that people can get added protection by getting vaccinated after having been infected with the virus that causes COVID-19. Even if a child has had COVID-19, they should still get vaccinated. For children who have been infected with COVID-19, their next dose can be delayed 3 months from when symptoms started or, if they did not have symptoms, when they received a positive test. This possible delay can happen with a primary dose or a booster dose.

Read the science about immunity from COVID-19 infection and vaccination.

Children and teens may get a COVID-19 vaccine and other vaccines, including a flu vaccine, at the same time.

For information on COVID-19 vaccination recommendations for children and teens, visit the CDC.

Yes. Before recommending COVID-19 vaccination for children, scientists conducted clinical trials with thousands of children to establish the safety and effectiveness of the vaccines for children.

Millions of children and teens ages 5 through 17 years have received a first dose of COVID-19 vaccine. Ongoing safety monitoring shows that the known risks and possible severe complications of COVID-19 outweigh the potential risks of having a rare, adverse reaction to vaccination.

Reported side effects tend to be mild, temporary, and like those experienced after routine vaccination. Serious reactions after COVID-19 vaccination in children are rare. When they are reported, serious reactions most frequently occur within a few days after vaccination.

For more information, visit the CDC.

Children who get COVID-19 can get very sick, can require treatment in a hospital, and in rare situations, can even die. The benefit of getting a COVID-19 vaccine is a safer, more reliable way to build protection than risking the potentially serious consequences of getting sick with COVID-19. After getting COVID-19, children and teens can also experience a wide range of new, returning, or ongoing health problems. Getting eligible children vaccinated can help prevent them from getting really sick even if they do get infected and help prevent serious short- and long-term complications of COVID-19.

Vaccinating children can also give parents greater confidence in their children participating in childcare, school, and other activities.

The known risks of COVID-19 and possible severe complications—such as long-term health problems, hospitalization, and even death—outweigh the potential risks of having a rare, adverse reaction to vaccination.

For more information, visit the CDC. 

COVID-19 vaccination significantly lowers your risk of severe illness, hospitalization, and death if you get infected. Compared to people who are up to date with their COVID-19 vaccinations, unvaccinated people are more likely to get COVID-19, much more likely to be hospitalized with COVID-19, and much more likely to die from COVID-19.

Like all vaccines, COVID-19 vaccines are not 100% effective at preventing infection. Some people who are up to date with their COVID-19 vaccinations will get COVID-19 breakthrough infection. However, staying up to date with your COVID-19 vaccinations means that you are less likely to have a breakthrough infection and, if you do get sick, you are less likely to get severely ill or die. Staying up to date with COVID-19 vaccination also means you are less likely to spread the disease to others and increases your protection against new variants of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.

Yes, COVID-19 vaccination is recommended for people who are pregnant, breastfeeding, or trying to get pregnant now, as well as people who might become pregnant in the future. People with COVID-19 during pregnancy are more likely to deliver a preterm (earlier than 37 weeks) or stillborn infant and may also be more likely to have other pregnancy complications.

COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy helps

• Prevent severe illness and death in people who are pregnant
• Protect babies younger than 6 months old from hospitalization caused by COVID-19

Learn more about vaccination considerations and the safety and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccinations for people who are pregnant or breastfeeding.

If you are pregnant and have received a COVID-19 vaccine, we encourage you to enroll in v-safe, CDC’s smartphone-based system that provides personalized health check-ins after vaccination. A v-safe pregnancy registry has been established to gather information on the health of pregnant people who have received a COVID-19 vaccine.

• A person with any of the medical conditions listed on the CDC site is more likely to get very sick with COVID-19. If you have one of those conditions, talk with your healthcare provider about how best to protect yourself from severe illness from COVID-19.
• The list does not include all possible conditions that put you at higher risk of severe illness from COVID-19. If you have questions about a condition not included on this list, talk to your healthcare provider about how best to manage your condition and protect yourself from COVID-19.
• Staying up to date with COVID-19 vaccines (getting primary series and booster) and following preventive measures for COVID-19 are important. This is especially important if you are older or have severe health conditions or more than one health condition, including those on the list.
• Approved and authorized COVID-19 vaccines (primary series and booster) are safe and effective.
• Some people who are immunocompromised, or people with weakened immune systems, may be eligible for an additional primary dose of COVID-19 vaccine.

Visit the CDC for additional information for people with underlying medical conditions.

No. You should wait to be vaccinated until after you complete your isolation period. People who have symptoms will end isolation at a different time than people who do not have symptoms. This also applies to people who have been vaccinated but get COVID-19 before getting any additional or booster doses. Additionally, you may consider delaying your next vaccine (primary dose or booster) by 3 months from when your symptoms started or, if you had no symptoms, when you received a positive test.

People who have had a known COVID-19 exposure should not seek vaccination until their quarantine period has ended to avoid potentially exposing healthcare personnel and others during the vaccination visit. This recommendation to wait also applies to people with a known COVID-19 exposure who have received their first dose and need additional or booster doses.

Learn more about how to stay up to date with your COVID-19 vaccines.