Schedule COVID-19 Vaccine | Walgreens (2024)

FAQs

Is Pfizer or Moderna better? ›

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.

How long does the COVID vaccine last? Studies suggest COVID vaccines are most effective in the first few months following your shot. That's why when health experts recommend boosters or updated doses, they're usually given three to four months after your last COVID shot.

Everyone aged 5 years and older ‡ should get 1 dose of an updated COVID-19 vaccine to protect against serious illness from COVID-19. Children aged 6 months–4 years may need multiple doses of COVID-19 vaccines to be up to date, including at least 1 dose of updated COVID-19 vaccine.

COVID-19 Vaccine Safety — What We Know

The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are strongly recommended as safe and effective at preventing serious illness or death from COVID-19.

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.

That means if your first two doses were with the Pfizer vaccine, you can receive a booster dose with the Moderna vaccine. If you received a Johnson & Johnson vaccine, you are eligible to receive a Pfizer or Moderna booster shot.

You can consider a dose every 6 months after speaking with your healthcare provider. 5 – 17 years with severe immunocompromise, you can consider a further dose every 12 months after speaking with your healthcare provider.

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.

Most people feel better within a few weeks, but it can take longer to recover. For some people, it can be a more serious illness and their symptoms can last longer.

Is there a new COVID variant? ›

While more research is needed, experts suspect that the LB.1 strain and another variant called KP.2.3, which also has the two FLiRT mutations plus an additional one, may be more transmissible as well. But, the fact that the variants are otherwise genetically similar to JN.1 should be reassuring, Dr. Roberts says.

You could experience soreness at the injection site, fatigue, headache, body aches, and fever.

Key Takeaways. 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.

It's recommended that everyone 6 months and older receive at least 1 dose of the updated vaccine. Depending on your age and health conditions, you may be eligible for additional doses.

After more than three billion doses, the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid vaccine is being withdrawn. AstraZeneca said it was "incredibly proud" of the vaccine, but it had made a commercial decision.

Because the mRNA used in both vaccines is fragile, cold storage is required to ensure they are stable. Pfizer's vaccine requires ultra-cold shipment and storage at -94⁰ F, compared to Moderna's at -4⁰ F. This makes Moderna's far less challenging to use than Pfizer's, which requires special freezers.

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.