What to know
- People ages 6 months and older who are moderately or severely immunocompromised should get the 2024–2025 COVID-19 vaccine to help protect against severe disease, hospitalization, and death.
- People who are moderately or severely immunocompromised may get additional doses of 2024–2025 vaccine after they have received their recommended number of 2024–2025 doses.
- The recommended number of 2024–2025 vaccine doses depends on age, vaccination history, and vaccine brand.
Who is moderately or severely immunocompromised?
You can be immunocompromised (have a weakened immune system) due to a medical condition or if you received medications or treatments that suppress your immune system.
You can self-confirm if you are moderately or severely immunocompromised. This means you do not need any documentation to get COVID-19 vaccines you might be eligible to receive.
2024–2025 COVID-19 vaccines
Three vaccines are available for use in the United States. There is no preference for one vaccine over the other when more than one vaccine is recommended for an age group.
| Vaccine: | Recommended for: |
|---|---|
| 2024–2025 Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine | Everyone ages 6 months and older |
| 2024–2025 Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine | Everyone ages 6 months and older |
| 2024–2025 Novavax COVID-19 Vaccine | Everyone ages 12 years and older |
Vaccine recommendations
- For people who are moderately or severely immunocompromised, age and vaccine history determine which COVID-19 vaccine to get and number of doses needed.
- People ages 6 months and older who are moderately or severely immunocompromised and have never received a COVID-19 vaccine should get their first series of 2024–2025 vaccine doses from the same brand. This would be 3 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna or 2 doses of Novavax. They also may be able to get extra doses.
- People ages 6 months and older who are moderately or severely immunocompromised and have received COVID-19 vaccines before August 21, 2024, should get 1 or 2 doses of the 2024–2025 COVID-19 vaccine, depending on their age and the number of doses they got previously. They also may be able to get extra doses.
Children ages 6 months–4 years
Moderna
| If your child previously had: | Your child should get: | When? |
|---|---|---|
| 0 doses (never vaccinated) | 3 doses of 2024–2025 Moderna vaccine | 1st dose 2nd dose: 4 weeks after 1st dose 3rd dose: At least 4 weeks after 2nd dose |
| 1 dose of Moderna | 2 doses of 2024–2025 Moderna vaccine | 2nd dose: 4 weeks after 1st dose 3rd dose: At least 4 weeks after 2nd dose |
| 2 doses of Moderna | 1 dose of 2024–2025 Moderna vaccine | 3rd dose: At least 4 weeks after 2nd dose |
| 3 or more doses of Moderna, NOT including any dose of 2024–2025 COVID-19 vaccine | 1 dose of 2024–2025 Moderna vaccine | At least 8 weeks after last dose |
Pfizer-BioNTech
| If your child previously had: | Your child should get: | When? |
|---|---|---|
| 0 doses (never vaccinated) | 3 doses of 2024–2025 Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine | 1st dose 2nd dose: 3 weeks after 1st dose 3rd dose: At least 8 weeks after 2nd dose |
| 1 dose of Pfizer-BioNTech | 2 doses of 2024–2025 Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine | 2nd dose: 3 weeks after 1st dose 3rd dose: At least 8 weeks after 2nd dose |
| 2 doses of Pfizer BioNTech | 1 dose of 2024–2025 Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine | 3rd dose: At least 8 weeks after 2nd dose |
| 3 or more doses of Pfizer BioNTech, NOT including any dose of 2024–2025 COVID-19 vaccine | 1 dose of 2024–2025 Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine | At least 8 weeks after last dose |
Children ages 5–11 years
Moderna
| If your child previously had: | Your child should get: | When? |
|---|---|---|
| 0 doses (never vaccinated) | 3 doses of 2024–2025 Moderna vaccine | 1st dose 2nd dose: 4 weeks after 1st dose 3rd dose: At least 4 weeks after 2nd dose |
| 1 dose of Moderna | 2 doses of 2024–2025 Moderna vaccine | 2nd dose: 4 weeks after 1st dose 3rd dose: At least 4 weeks after 2nd dose |
| 2 doses of Moderna | 1 dose of 2024–2025 Moderna vaccine | 3rd dose: At least 4 weeks after 2nd dose |
| 3 or more doses of Moderna NOT including any dose of 2024-2025 COVID-19 vaccine | 1 dose of 2024–2025 Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine | At least 8 weeks after last dose |
Pfizer-BioNTech
| If your child previously had: | Your child should get: | When? |
|---|---|---|
| 0 doses (never vaccinated) | 3 doses of 2024–2025 Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine | 1st dose 2nd dose: 3 weeks after 1st dose 3rd dose: At least 4 weeks after 2nd dose |
| 1 dose of Pfizer-BioNTech | 2 doses of 2024–2025 Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine | 2nd dose: 3 weeks after 1st dose 3rd dose: At least 4 weeks after 2nd dose |
| 2 doses of Pfizer BioNTech | 1 dose of 2024–2025 Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine | 3rd dose: At least 4 weeks after 2nd dose |
| 3 or more doses of Pfizer BioNTech NOT including any dose of 2024-2025 COVID-19 vaccine | 1 dose of 2024–2025 Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccine | At least 8 weeks after last dose |
People ages 12 years and older
Moderna
| If you previously had: | You should get: | When? |
|---|---|---|
| 0 doses (never vaccinated) | 3 doses of 2024–2025 Moderna vaccine | 1st dose 2nd dose: 4 weeks after 1st dose 3rd dose: At least 4 weeks after 2nd dose |
| 1 dose of Moderna | 2 doses of 2024–2025 Moderna vaccine | 2nd dose: 4 weeks after 1st dose 3rd dose: At least 4 weeks after 2nd dose |
| 2 doses of Moderna | 1 dose of 2024–2025 Moderna vaccine | 3rd dose: At least 4 weeks after 2nd dose |
| 3 or more doses of Moderna NOT including any dose of 2024-2025 COVID-19 vaccine | 1 dose of 2024–2025 Moderna, Pfizer-BioNTech, or Novavax vaccine | At least 8 weeks after last dose |
Pfizer-BioNTech
| If you previously had: | You should get: | When? |
|---|---|---|
| 0 doses (never vaccinated) | 3 doses of 2024–2025 Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine | 1st dose 2nd dose: 3 weeks after 1st dose 3rd dose: At least 4 weeks after 2nd dose |
| 1 dose of Pfizer-BioNTech | 2 doses of 2024–2025 Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine | 2nd dose: 3 weeks after 1st dose 3rd dose: At least 4 weeks after 2nd dose |
| 2 doses of Pfizer BioNTech | 1 dose of 2024–2025 Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine | 3rd dose: At least 4 weeks after 2nd dose |
| 3 or more doses of Pfizer BioNTech NOT including any dose of 2024-2025 COVID-19 vaccine | 1 dose of 2024–2025 Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, or Novavax vaccine | At least 8 weeks after last dose |
Novavax
| If you previously had: | You should get: | When? |
|---|---|---|
| 0 doses (never vaccinated) | 2 doses of 2024–2025 Novavax vaccine | 1st dose 2nd dose: 3 weeks after 1st dose |
| 1 dose of Novavax | 1 dose of 2024–2025 Novavax vaccine | 2nd dose: 3 weeks after 1st dose |
| 2 or more doses of Novavax, NOT including any dose of 2024–2025 COVID-19 vaccine | 1 dose of 2024–2025 Novavax, Moderna, or Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine | At least 8 weeks after last dose |
Note: It is recommended to use the same brand of COVID-19 vaccine doses for the initial series in most cases. In some situations, a COVID-19 vaccine from a different brand may be used. Talk to your healthcare provider for more information.
Keep Reading:
COVID-19 Vaccine Basics
Additional doses of 2024–2025 COVID-19 vaccine for people who are moderately or severely immunocompromised
People ages 6 months and older who are moderately or severely immunocompromised may get 1 or more additional age-appropriate 2024–2025 COVID-19 vaccine doses. Talk to your healthcare provider for more information.
People who recently had COVID-19
- People who recently had COVID-19 may delay getting a COVID-19 vaccine for 3 months.
- The risk of getting COVID-19 is less likely in the weeks to months following a SARS-CoV-2 infection.
- Certain factors could be reasons to get a vaccine sooner rather than later, such as:
- Personal risk of severe COVID-19
- Risk of COVID-19 in a family or household member or other close contact
- Local levels of COVID-19 illness
- Personal risk of severe COVID-19
People who were vaccinated outside of the United States
Learn more about the recommendations for people vaccinated outside of the United States.