Vaccines

For Pfizer:

• Two doses 21 days apart, then
• First booster shot 5 months later, then
• For people age 50+ or immune-compromised, a second booster shot 4 months later

For Moderna:

• Two doses 28 days apart, then  
• First booster shot 5 months later, then
• For people age 50+ or immune-compromised, a second booster shot 4 months later

In your initial two-shot series, get your second shot as close to the recommended interval as possible.

People aged 12-39 may consider waiting 8 weeks between doses of Moderna or Pfizer. More time between doses may reduce the risk of myocarditis in males aged 12-39.

For Johnson & Johnson:

• One dose, then 
• First booster shot 2 months later, then
• Second booster shot 4 months later

The CDC now recommends the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine instead of Johnson & Johnson. These are also the preferred booster doses for those who first got Johnson & Johnson.

Additional doses are available for immune-compromised patients at participating clinics.

Read Booster shots and additional doses to see if you are eligible.

Yes, after you complete your first vaccination series. In the United States, that means:

• Two shots of the Pfizer vaccine, or 
• Two shots of the Moderna vaccine, or 
• One shot of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine

Then you may choose another vaccine to receive as a booster dose. Some people may prefer the vaccine they got before, and others may prefer to get a different booster. CDC recommendations now allow for this type of mix-and-match dosing for booster doses.

A Pfizer or Moderna booster is strongly advised for those who got the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

Yes. Here’s what the CDC recommends:

• If you were vaccinated outside the U.S. with a vaccine approved or authorized by the FDA, you can get a second dose, booster dose, or additional dose. You must follow U.S. eligibility and timing schedules.
• If you got one or both doses of a World Health Organization (WHO) Emergency Use Listed (EUL) vaccine, you can get a second dose, booster dose, or additional dose of the Pfizer vaccine. You must follow U.S. eligibility and timing schedules.
• If you got a COVID-19 vaccine that’s not WHO-EUL, you should start over. Get an FDA-authorized/approved vaccine and follow its timing schedule.

Schedule your vaccination at My Turn.

COVID-19 vaccinations are free if you have health insurance.

Some vaccination sites offer free shots to the uninsured. Check with your clinic to be sure.

No. Vaccine eligibility is based on age. Residency or immigration status does not matter.

If you need to cancel or reschedule your appointment, you can do so on the Manage your appointments page.

You will be asked to confirm your appointment with:

• Your appointment confirmation number, and 
• Either your cell phone number or your email address.

Yes. The CDC recommends that people who have already had COVID-19 get a COVID-19 vaccine. 

We do not know how long your protection lasts from getting infected again after you recover. 

One study showed that unvaccinated people who already had COVID-19 are more than twice as likely as vaccinated people to get it again.

No. Wait until you have recovered and have met the criteria for ending isolation. This guidance also applies to people who get COVID-19 between their first and second dose.

Yes. All vaccine clinics in California are required to meet ADA requirements.

Check with your healthcare provider, local health department, or local pharmacy. 

If you cannot leave your home, you can state this when booking on myturn.ca.gov or when calling 1-833-422-4255. If eligible, your local health jurisdiction will arrange for your in-home vaccination.

If you do not have a way to get to a vaccination site, you can receive free transportation through:

• My Turn, or 
• By calling the state’s COVID-19 hotline at 1-833-422-4255.

Transportation options include:

• Car transportation for ambulatory patients
• Non-emergency medical transportation for non-ambulatory patients, including 
  • Wheelchair vans
  • Gurney transportation, and other options. 

You can also check with your local doctor, health department, or pharmacy.

If you have Medi-Cal managed care, you can get a ride through your health plan or doctor. Contact your plan’s member service department to ask for transportation.

If you get Medi-Cal through Fee-for-Service (FFS), you can get a list of transportation in your county. Contact them directly to arrange transportation to your appointments. 

If you have no provider, the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) can assist. Email them at DHCSNMT@dhcs.ca.gov. Do NOT include personal information in your first email. DHCS staff will reply with a secure email asking for more information. 

If you need non-emergency medical transportation, inform your doctor. They can prescribe this service and put you in touch with transportation.

Yes. It’s recommended that you get a booster shot as soon as you’re eligible:

• If you got a Moderna or Pfizer vaccine, get a booster shot after 5 months
• If you got a Johnson & Johnson vaccine, get a booster shot after 2 months

Your booster shot can be a different vaccine brand than you received before. A Pfizer or Moderna booster is strongly advised for those who got the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

Moderna and Johnson & Johnson booster shots are only for those 18 and older. Pfizer booster shots can be given to those aged 12 and older.

Second booster shots are available if you are aged 50 or older, if you have compromised immunity, or if you initially got the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. You should get this second booster only if it has been 4 months since your first booster shot.

Californians can schedule their booster shot or find a walk-in clinic at My Turn. Read more about booster shots and booster questions and answers from CDPH.

The CDC recommends additional doses of Pfizer or Moderna for those with compromised immunity. This includes those who: 

• Get active cancer treatment for tumors or cancers of the blood
• Got an organ transplant and are taking medicine to suppress the immune system
• Got a stem cell transplant within the last 2 years or are taking medicine to suppress the immune system
• Have moderate or severe primary immunodeficiency (such as DiGeorge syndrome, Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome)
• Have advanced or untreated HIV infection
• Get active treatment with high-dose corticosteroids or other drugs that suppress immune response

Children aged 5-11 with these conditions can get an additional dose of Pfizer.

Talk to your doctor to see if getting an additional dose is right for you. If you meet these criteria, you can book your third dose at My Turn.

See questions and answers about additional doses.

The following are acceptable: 

• Original DHHS CDC COVID-19 vaccination record card, which includes:
  • Name of person vaccinated
  • Date of birth 
  • Type of vaccine provided
  • Lot number
  • Date last dose administered
  • Site where administered

• A photo or paper copy of your DHHS CDC COVID-19 vaccination record card
• A photo of your vaccination record card stored on a phone or other electronic device
• Paper or digital documentation of vaccination from a healthcare provider or other issuer.
• A Digital COVID-19 Vaccine Record (DCVR). 

Read CDPH’s Vaccine Record Guidelines & Standards for complete details.

People are considered vaccinated and boosted for COVID-19:

• After they receive two doses in a 2-dose series (Pfizer or Moderna), and one booster dose, or
• After they receive a single-dose vaccine (Johnson & Johnson) and one booster dose.

Second booster doses are not required to be considered vaccinated and boosted.

No. A vaccine will not cause you to test positive on viral tests.

If your body develops an immune response, you may test positive on antibody tests. This shows that you may have protection against the virus.

California law strictly limits how personal information can be shared. The state prevents individuals being identified in shared data.

Read more at CDPH’s California Data Use Agreement and Frequently Asked Questions.

Yes. Keep your vaccination record card in a safe place to prevent loss or damage

The Digital COVID-19 Vaccine Record (DCVR) portal gives you a digital copy of this record. If you’ve lost your paper card, print out your digital record. You can use it at any place where you would show your paper card.

Read CDPH’s Vaccine Record Guidelines & Standards for complete details.

They will not automatically show on your digital vaccine record. You will need to go to the Digital COVID-19 Vaccine Record portal to get a new QR code.

Wait 14 days for your new dose to show up in the California Immunization Registry before you try to get a new QR code.

Yes. Before vaccinating a minor, vaccine providers must get consent from a:

• Parent, 
• Legal guardian, or 
• Other adults having legal custody. 

There are some exceptions:

• Emancipated minors do not need the consent of a parent or guardian to receive a COVID-19 vaccine.
• Providers may accept written consent. It must be from the parent or legal guardian of an unaccompanied minor. This consent must verify the parent/guardian has received the Pfizer EUA Fact Sheet.
• Phone or video consent is acceptable. The parent/guardian must confirm that they received the Pfizer EUA Fact Sheet. Reading the fact sheet to the parent/guardian is an option.

Families should check with their vaccine provider on acceptable forms of consent. See CDPH’s Pfizer Vaccine Minor Consent Guidance for more details.

Cases in children are increasing. We must get young people vaccinated to prevent more hospitalizations and deaths.

Vaccinations may stop the spread of coronavirus variants. They can also shrink the pool of people vulnerable to COVID-19. By getting children 5 and up vaccinated, families can be safer as we get back to doing the things we love.

Yes, unless they have had anaphylactic-type reactions to components of the Pfizer vaccine. Allergic reactions to the COVID-19 vaccine are rare. Talk to your child’s doctor before vaccination if they’ve had:   

• Severe allergies
• Flu vaccination reactions

Youth aged 5 and up can still receive the COVID-19 vaccine even if they have health conditions. Talk to your doctor or clinic about your child’s specific conditions.

Yes. Students will soon be required to be vaccinated for in-person learning. This will start the term following FDA full approval of the vaccine for their grade span (7-12 and K-6). The COVID-19 vaccine will be added to the list of required vaccinations for school. This includes vaccines for measles, mumps, rubella and more.

Vaccine trials commonly begin with older, more vulnerable populations. They then extend to younger ages. This phased eligibility approach balances the need for both safety and speed.

Clinical trials in more than 4,500 children ages 5-11 prove the COVID-19 vaccine is safe and effective. It results in a strong antibody response in children who received the vaccines.

The Employer Vaccination Toolkit provides all the information you need to:

• Partner with local providers for offsite vaccination events
• Request a worksite mobile clinic
• Help employees find and book vaccination appointments
• Share and promote resources that support employees in getting vaccinated

Yes, if certain requirements are met. Under the ADA, an employer may insist all employees to meet a standard that is:

• Job-related, and 
• Meets with a business need

This could include a safety-related standard requiring COVID-19 vaccination.

If an employee cannot be vaccinated because of a disability, the employer may not require them to. The exception to that is if the employee’s non-compliance poses a threat to their health or safety or that of others in the workplace.

Read What You Should Know About COVID-19 and the ADA, the Rehabilitation Act, and Other EEO Laws.

Yes. In California these include:

• Healthcare workers
• Those who work in congregate settings (like homeless shelters and correctional facilities)
• State employees
• Care workers
• K-12 teachers and school staff

Healthcare workers and workers in congregate settings must be vaccinated and get a booster. Exceptions can only be made for those with:

• Conflicting religious beliefs, or
• Qualified medical reasons. 

If they are not vaccinated and boosted, they are required to:

• Get tested for COVID-19 regularly
• Wear masks or other personal protective equipment (PPE) at work. 

Read more in:

• Health Care Worker Vaccine Requirement Q&A
• Adult Care Facilities and Direct Care Worker Requirement Q&A
• Protection in High-Risk Settings Q&A
• Vaccination requirement for health care workers in correctional facilities and detention centers

California state employees must be vaccinated or be regularly tested for COVID-19. See details at CalHR’s Vaccine Verification and Testing Requirements.

K-12 teachers and school employees must be vaccinated or be tested weekly for COVID-19.

Workers in adult and senior care facilities and in-home care workers must be vaccinated. For details and exceptions, see the September 28 public health order.

CDPH expanded this order to include workers in senior living and hospice workers. See expansion of vaccine requirement FAQ for details.

Yes. COVID-19 vaccine does not provide protection against flu.

The CDC recommends that:

• If you had a severe or immediate reaction to an mRNA vaccine or its ingredients:
  • Do not get the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine. 
  • Ask your doctor if you can get the Janssen vaccine.
• If you had a severe or immediate reaction to the Johnson & Johnson vaccine or its ingredients:
  • Do not get it again. 
  • Ask your doctor if you can get the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine.
• If you had an immediate allergic reaction after getting the first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine:
  • Do not get the second dose.  
• If you are allergic to PEG:
  • Do not get the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine.
  • Ask your doctor if you can get the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
• If you are allergic to polysorbate:
  • Do not get the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
  • Ask your doctor if you can get the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine.

People with medical conditions can get vaccinated, as long as they are not allergic to vaccine ingredients. Learn more about vaccination considerations for people with underlying medical conditions.

To learn about the ingredients in authorized COVID-19 vaccines, see

• Information about the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine
• Information about the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine
• Information About Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine

Yes. The CDC strongly recommends that if you’re pregnant or or could be pregnant, you get vaccinated. If you get COVID-19 while you are pregnant, you are more likely to get severely ill.  

The vaccines are safe for you and your baby. They do not contain the live virus, so they cannot cause COVID-19. Vaccinated pregnant people also pass antibodies to their fetus in the womb. Their babies are then born with some protection.

COVID-19 vaccines are also safe for those who breastfeed and their babies. Breastfeeding people who got Moderna or Pfizer vaccines have antibodies in their breast milk. This could help protect their babies.

Talk to your doctor if you have questions about getting a COVID-19 vaccine.

For more information, read:

• CDPH’s Guidance for Vaccination During Pregnancy
• CDC’s COVID-19 Vaccines While Pregnant or Breastfeeding
• CDPH’s COVID-19 Vaccine and Pregnancy

The CDC recommends:

• If you tested positive, had only mild symptoms, and were not treated, you should:
  • Wait at least 10 days after the start of COVID-19 symptoms, and 
  • Meet criteria to stop isolation before getting the COVID-19 vaccine.
• Wait 90 days to get the vaccine if:
  • You recovered from a COVID-19 infection, and 
  • Were treated with monoclonal antibodies or convalescent plasma.

Yes, you can get a COVID-19 vaccine and other vaccines (like for the flu) at the same visit. You no longer need to wait 14 days between different vaccinations. Learn more about getting more than one kind of vaccine.

Yes. Both My Turn and Vaccines.gov allow you to search for vaccines by manufacturer.

Read CDPH’s Choosing the COVID-19 Vaccine That is Right for You.

If you’re getting a booster shot, you can choose to get a different vaccine brand than you originally got.

Two are. Pfizer’s vaccine, now named Comirnaty, has full FDA approval for use in anyone aged 16 and up. The Moderna vaccine is approved for those aged 18 and up.

The FDA can allow using vaccines before full approval. This is called an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA). It lets us respond quickly to emergency situations like a pandemic. EUAs still involve rigorous testing for safety and effectiveness.

The Johnson & Johnson vaccine has an EUA for use in anyone aged 18 and up. The Pfizer vaccine has an EUA for use in children aged 12 to 15. The lower-dose Pfizer vaccine has an EUA for use in children aged 5 to 11.

If you’ve been waiting for full FDA approval of a vaccine before getting vaccinated, the wait is over. Visit My Turn and book your Pfizer or Moderna vaccination today.

No. Neither the state or federal government requires you to get vaccinated. We hope Californians will opt for vaccination once they see how safe and effective it is.

Yes. You must show proof of vaccination and booster (if it’s been 6 months or more since your vaccination) if you visit a:

• Hospital
• Skilled nursing facility
• Intermediate care facility 
• Adult and senior care facility

If you are not vaccinated and boosted, you must show proof of a negative COVID-19 test from within:

• One day before the visit (for antigen test)
• Two days before the visit (for PCR test)

Exceptions to this rule are:

• Visits to a patient where death is imminent
• Emergency situations

All visitors must wear masks and PPE and keep social distance during their visit. Read CDPH’s healthcare visitor requirements and FAQ.

Talking with family and friends about the benefits of getting a COVID-19 vaccine can be hard. Try to listen without judgment and identify the root of their concerns. Things to remember to help open the discussion include:

• Listen to questions with empathy
• Ask open-ended questions to explore concerns
• Ask permission to share information
• Help them find their own reason to get vaccinated
• Help make their vaccination happen

Read the CDC’s How to talk about COVID-19 vaccines with friends and family.