There are three U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized COVID-19 vaccines. All three of the available COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective and reduce your risk of severe illness. Two of them, Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, are messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines. mRNA vaccines teach our cells how to make a protein that will trigger an immune response inside our bodies. The third, Johnson & Johnson Janssen, is a viral vector vaccine. Viral vector vaccines use a modified version of a vector virus to deliver important instructions to the cells. The vector virus is not a live virus and will not give you COVID-19.
Everyone five years of age and older can get a COVID-19 vaccination. currently, the FDA has given Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine emergency authorization to be used in children ages 5-15 years.
A person is considered fully vaccinated against COVID-19:
- Two weeks after the second dose in a two-dose series (Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna); or
- Two weeks after the single dose of the Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen vaccine.
Keep taking all necessary precautions until you are fully vaccinated.
Booster shot eligibility:
The CDC recommends that everyone 18 years and older who received the Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine primary series get a booster dose. A booster dose of the COVID-19 vaccine will help eligible Tribal citizens maximize their protection, prolong the vaccine’s durability and continue to safeguard their communities against the virus.
- If you got the Pfizer or Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine: You should wait six months or more after your second dose to get your booster.
- If you got the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 Vaccine: You should get a booster dose two months after your first dose.
- You may get a different vaccine for your booster dose than the vaccine you got for your primary series.
- If Pfizer was your primary two-dose series, you could get a booster of Pfizer, Moderna, or Johnson & Johnson six months later.
- If Moderna was your primary two-dose series, you could get a booster from Moderna, Pfizer, or Johnson & Johnson six months later.
- Suppose you received the one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine. In that case, you can get a booster two months later from either Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, or Moderna.
If you are unsure if you are eligible for a COVID-19 booster, ask your Indian Health Service (IHS) or Tribal healthcare provider. For more information about COVID-19, visit the National Indian Health Board (NIHB) COVID-19 Tribal Resource Center.