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  1. HHS
  2. Coronavirus
  3. COVID-19 Vaccines
  • Coronavirus (COVID-19)
    • Vaccines
    • Treatments
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      • Community-Based Testing Sites
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COVID-19 Vaccines

COVID-19 vaccines are safe, effective, and free.

COVID-19 vaccines are available for free to everyone 6 months and older living in the United States, regardless of immigration or insurance status. Getting vaccinated is the best way to help protect people from COVID-19. Get vaccinated if you haven't. If you are fully vaccinated, get a booster when you are eligible.

  • Find COVID-19 vaccine information from CDC
  • Learn more about COVID-19 vaccine recommendations for children and teens

How do I get a COVID-19 vaccine?

  • Text your zip code to 438829
  • Call 1-800-232-0233
  • Find a vaccine near you

You can also check with your local health department or local news for additional information where vaccines are available in your area.


COVID-19 Vaccine Milestones

April

April 18, 2023
FDA Authorizes Changes to Simplify Use of Bivalent mRNA COVID-19 Vaccines

April 19, 2023
CDC simplifies COVID-19 vaccine recommendations, allows older adults and immunocompromised adults to get second dose of the updated vaccine

April 19, 2023
Statement from HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra on CDC’s Recommendation Allowing Older and Immunocompromised Adults to Receive Second Dose of Updated Vaccine

April 24, 2023
HHS Secretary issues secretarial directive on simplified and expanded use of bivalent mRNA COVID-19 vaccines


December

December 8, 2022
FDA Authorizes Updated (Bivalent) COVID-19 Vaccines for Children Down to 6 Months of Age

December 9, 2022
CDC Expands Updated COVID-19 Vaccines to Include Children Ages 6 Months through 5 Years

December 9, 2022
HHS Secretary issued a secretarial directive on bivalent vaccines for Children Down to 6 Months of Age

December 9, 2022
Statement from HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra on CDC’s Recommendation of the Updated COVID-19 Vaccines for Young Children


October

October 13, 2022
HHS Secretary issued a secretarial directive on biavalent COVID-19 vaccine booster doses for individuals ages 5 years and older.


September

September 2, 2022
HHS Secretary issued a secretarial directive on biavalent COVID-19 vaccine booster doses for individuals ages 12 years and older.

September 2, 2022
HHS Secretary Statement on CDC’s recommendation of an updated COVID-19 vaccine.


July

July 13, 2022
FDA authorized emergency use of Novavax COVID-19 Vaccine, Adjuvanted for individuals 18 years of age and older.

July 21, 2022
HHS Secretary issued a directive on the use of a two-dose Novavax COVID-19 Vaccine, Adjuvanted for persons ages 18 years and older.


June

June 17, 2022
FDA authorized Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines for children down to 6 months of age.

June 18, 2022
HHS Secretary issued a directive to expand eligibility of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine for children 6 months through 5 years old and the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for children 6 months through 4 years old.

June 24, 2022
HHS Secretary issued a directive to expand eligibility of a two-dose series of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 6 years through 17 years, and an additional Moderna dose for children in that age group who are immunocompromised.


May

May 17, 2022
FDA expanded eligibility for the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to allow a single booster dose for children 5 through 11 years of age.

May 23, 2022
HHS Secretary issued a directive to expand eligibility for a single booster dose to children ages 5 through 11 years and updated the recommendation of a second COVID-19 vaccine booster dose to certain populations.


March

March 29, 2022
FDA authorized the second booster dose of either the Pfizer-BioNTech or the Moderna COVID-19 vaccines for adults ages 50 years and older and certain immunocompromised individuals.


January

January 10, 2022
HHS Secretary issued a directive to expand eligibility for children ages 12 through 15 years to receive a booster dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, and to allow a third vaccine dose for immunocompromised children 5 through 11 years of age.

January 31, 2022
FDA approved the second COVID-19 vaccine, Spikevax (COVID-19 Vaccine, mRNA), which was previously known as Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine; the approved vaccine will be marketed as Spikevax for the prevention of COVID-19 in individuals 18 years of age and older.


December

December 10, 2021
HHS Secretary issued a directive to expand eligibility for adolescents ages 16 and 17 to receive a booster dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine.


November

November 3, 2021
HHS Secretary issued a directive to expand eligibility for children five years and older to receive an age-appropriate dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine.

November 8, 2021
A joint letter from HHS Secretary Becerra and Education Secretary Cardona is issued about how schools can support COVID-19 vaccination for children.

November 21, 2021
HHS Secretary issued a directive to expand eligibility for all adults ages 18 and older to receive a booster dose of COVID-19 vaccines.


October

October 20, 2021
FDA amended the emergency use authorizations (EUAs) to allow for a single booster dose the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine and Janssen (Johnson and Johnson) COVID-19 vaccine. FDA also authorized the use of heterologous (or "mix-and-match") booster dose of an available vaccine in eligible individuals following completion of primary vaccination with a different COVID-19 vaccine.

October 22, 2021
HHS Secretary issued a directive on Moderna and Janssen (Johnson and Johnson) vaccine boosters*

October 29, 2021
FDA authorized the emergency use (EUA) for the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine for the prevention of COVID-19 to include children 5 through 11 years of age.


September

September 22, 2021
FDA amended the emergency use authorization (EUA) to allow a single booster dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to be administered at least six months after completion of the vaccine's primary series in certain populations.

September 25, 2021
HHS Secretary issued a directive to allow a booster dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine to certain populations.


August

August 23, 2021
FDA approved the first COVID-19 vaccine, Comirnaty (COVID-19 Vaccine, mRNA), which was previously known as Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine, for the prevention of COVID-19 disease in individuals 16 years of age and older.


May

May 10, 2021
FDA amended the emergency use authorization for the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to include adolescents 12 through 15 years of age.


April

April 19, 2021
The White House announced that all people age 16 and older are eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine.


March

March 2, 2021
Acting HHS Secretary directed that teachers, school staff, and child care workers are eligible for COVID-19 vaccinations*.

March 17, 2021
Acting HHS Secretary issued a directive to expand COVID-19 vaccine eligibility to all Americans* by May 1, 2021.


February

February 27, 2021
FDA issued the third EUA for use of the Janssen COVID-19 vaccine in persons aged 18 years and older for the prevention of COVID-19.


December

December 11, 2020
FDA issued the first emergency use authorization (EUA) for use of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine in persons aged 16 years and older for the prevention of COVID-19.

December 14, 2020
The first deliveries of the COVID-19 vaccines began.

December 18, 2020
FDA issued the second EUA for use of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine in persons aged 18 years and older for the prevention of COVID-19.


COVID-19 Vaccine Development and Authorization

The federal government has been working since the pandemic started to develop, manufacture, and distribute safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines.

Years before the COVID-19 pandemic, scientists were already studying coronaviruses to find out how to protect against them. When the COVID-19 pandemic began, researchers were able to come up with vaccines for this new virus much faster because of work that was already happening.

FDA Authorization

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reviews and evaluates COVID-19 vaccines for quality, safety, and effectiveness. The FDA then issues Emergency Use Authorizations (EUAs) for certain vaccines that meet rigorous, science-based standards. The FDA determines that these vaccines are safe and effective for public use.

CDC Recommendation

After the FDA authorizes the emergency use of a vaccine, an independent panel of medical and health experts called the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) provides recommendations and guidance to the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) regarding the use of the vaccine.

FDA Approval

When the FDA approves a vaccine, it must undergo the agency's standard approval process for reviewing the quality, safety and effectiveness. The FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research conducts an analysis of the benefits and risks to ensure the vaccine meets the FDA's standards for approval.

Find vaccine overviews, safety information, and ingredient lists:

  • Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine
  • Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine
  • Johnson & Johnson's Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine
  • Novavax COVID-19, Adjuvanted Vaccine

Building Vaccine Confidence

Some people have questions before they get vaccinated. We are working to meet people where they are and help them understand that vaccines are safe, effective, and the best way to combat COVID-19. If you want to do more to build vaccine confidence in your community, join the COVID-19 Community Corps, a nationwide, grassroots network of local voices and trusted community leaders.

  • Read about common myths and learn the facts.
  • Find more resources to promote vaccine confidence.

COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution

During the COVID-19 pandemic, each state, tribe, and territory received allocations of vaccines and developed its own plan for distributing the vaccine to people in their jurisdiction.

Vaccinations in the United States began on December 14, 2020.

Tribal health programs and Urban Indian Organizations (UIOs) decided to receive vaccines either through the Indian Health Service (IHS) or through the State. To better understand the needs of American Indian and Alaska Native, HHS initiated tribal consultation in September 2020 to seek input from tribal leaders on COVID-19 vaccination planning for Indian Country.

  • View a list of tribal health programs and UIOs receiving vaccines from IHS

To ensure the equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, the federal government stood up programs to reach high-risk communities directly and quickly.

  • The Federal Retail Pharmacy Program sent doses to 21 pharmacy partners with over 40,000 activated stores, 40% of which are located in high-risk zip codes.
  • The Health Center COVID-19 Vaccine Program allocates doses directly to community-based health centers who sign up to receive and administer COVID-19 vaccines. The program is open to more than 1,400 health centers nationwide. Over 91% of these health center patients are individuals or families living at or below 200% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines.
  • The Rural Health Clinic COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution (RHCVD) Program distributes doses directly to Rural Health Clinics in medically-underserved rural communities.

Vaccine Data

As more and more people get their vaccines, you can track the total number of COVID-19 vaccinations administered in the United States.


*This content is in the process of Section 508 review. If you need immediate assistance accessing this content, please submit a request to digital@hhs.gov. Content will be updated pending the outcome of the Section 508 review.

Content created by Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs (ASPA)
Content last reviewed December 12, 2022
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