Vaccines

Once a week, the federal government announces anticipated allocation figures for each state. The number of allocated doses provided by the federal government is a projection and subject to change. 

Using the federal allocation as a starting point, the state considers recommendations from the leadership of local health jurisdictions and the state’s third-party administrator, Blue Shield of California, to make decisions about how best to allocate vaccine supply in the state for efficient and equitable delivery of vaccinations. In addition to adjusting allocations to target eligible populations the state is directing 40% of vaccine doses to the hardest hit areas of the state based on the lowest quartile of the Healthy Places Index (HPI). See the most recent allocation.

Once notified of an allocation, local providers place orders which are reviewed by the state and submitted to the federal government. The federal government then authorizes the order and submits the request to the manufacturer. The manufacturer or central distributor ships the vaccine directly to local providers. It can take a week or longer for allocation by the federal government to arrive at public health offices or providers for administration.

See myCAvax Provider Enrollment instructions for steps to sign up. Also read the CDPH’s COVID-19 vaccine provider enrollment and training requirements.

If you are a provider looking for more information and updates on the California COVID-19 vaccination program, see the California COVID-19 Vaccination Program Provider FAQs.

• Two doses for the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, 21 days apart
• Two doses for the Moderna vaccine, 28 days apart
• One dose for the Johnson & Johnson/Janssen vaccine

If two shots are required, get your second shot as close to the recommended interval as possible, but not sooner. However, if you can’t get it at the recommended interval, second doses may be given up to 6 weeks (42 days) after the first dose. There is limited data on how well these vaccines work beyond this window. But if the second dose is given after 42 days, there is no need to start over.

Be sure to get the same vaccine the second time that you got the first time. COVID-19 vaccines are not interchangeable with each other. The safety and efficacy of mixing vaccines has not been tested.

Nothing. COVID-19 vaccines, including their administration, are free to the public.

Read more at the Department of Managed Health Care’s Know Your Health Care Rights.

No. Vaccine distribution is based on eligibility irrespective of residency or immigration status.

Yes. We do not know how long someone is protected from getting sick again after recovering from COVID-19.

No. People with COVID-19 who have symptoms should wait to be vaccinated until they have recovered from their illness and have met the criteria for ending isolation. Those without symptoms should also wait until they meet the criteria before getting vaccinated. This guidance also applies to people who get COVID-19 before getting their second dose of vaccine.

Yes. All vaccine clinics in California are required to ensure sites and services are accessible in accordance with ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) requirements.

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

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

If you receive Medi-Cal through a managed care plan, contact your plan’s member service department to request assistance for transportation to receive covered benefits. If you receive Medi-Cal through Fee-for-Service (FFS), you can access a list of Non-Medical Transportation (NMT) providers in your county and you can contact them directly to arrange transportation to your appointments. 

If there is not a provider in your area, the California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) can assist if you email them DHCSNMT@dhcs.ca.gov. Please do NOT include personal information in your first email. DHCS staff will reply with a secure email asking for your information about the appointment. 

If you have a need for Non-Emergency Medical Transportation, please inform your medical provider who can prescribe this service and put you in touch with a transportation provider to coordinate your ride to and from your appointment(s).

The following are accepted: 

• Vaccination card, which includes name of person vaccinated, type of vaccine provided, and date last dose administered 
• A photo of a vaccination card as a separate document
• A photo of the attendee’s vaccination card stored on their phone
• Documentation of vaccination from a healthcare provider

Probably nothing. If you got the Johnson & Johnson/Janssen COVID-19 vaccine, your risk of having a blood clot is very low, and that risk will decrease over time.

Contact your healthcare provider and seek urgent medical treatment if you develop any of the following symptoms:

• Severe headache
• Backache
• New neurologic symptoms
• Severe abdominal pain
• Shortness of breath
• Leg swelling
• Tiny red spots on the skin (petechiae)
• New or easy bruising

If you have any adverse events after vaccination, report them to v-safe and the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System.

Read more at the CDC’s Recommendation to Pause Use of Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine.

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

If your body develops an immune response (the goal of vaccination), there is a possibility that you may test positive on antibody tests. Antibody tests indicate that you may have protection against the virus.

California law strictly limits how personal information about those who are vaccinated can be shared. California negotiated with the federal government to limit the required data sharing to only information that will not allow an individual to be identified.

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

Yes. We urge Californians to keep their vaccination record cards for themselves and their families in a safe place to prevent loss or damage. Individuals who need replacement cards should contact their vaccination provider for replacement. The local public health department and/or CDPH may also have this information if the vaccinated individual is unable to locate it through the vaccination provider.

Yes. Vaccine providers must obtain consent from a parent, legal guardian, or other adult having legal custody before vaccinating a minor. But there are some exceptions:  

• Emancipated minors do not need the consent of a parent or guardian to receive COVID-19 vaccine.
• Providers may accept written consent from a parent or legal guardian of an unaccompanied minor. 
• If a provider has a written authorization for general medical care of a minor on file, a separate consent from a parent or guardian is not required. However, the provider may still request it.

It depends. CDC recommends that:

• If you have had a severe allergic reaction or an immediate allergic reaction—even if it was not severe—to any ingredient in an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine, you should not get either of the currently available mRNA COVID-19 vaccines (Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna).
• If you have had a severe allergic reaction or an immediate allergic reaction to any ingredient in Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen COVID-19 vaccine, you should not get the J&J/Janssen vaccine.
• If you had an immediate allergic reaction after getting the first dose of an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine, you should not get the second dose.  
• If you are allergic to PEG, you should not get an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine. Ask your doctor if you can get the Janssen vaccine.
• If you are allergic to polysorbate, you should not get the Janssen vaccine. Ask your doctor if you can get an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine.
• If you aren’t able to get one type of COVID-19 vaccine because you are allergic to an ingredient, ask your doctor if you should get a different vaccine. 
• If you aren’t able to get the second shot of an mRNA vaccine because you had an allergic reaction, ask your doctor if you should get a different vaccine.
• If you have had a severe allergic reaction to other vaccines or injections, you should ask your doctor if you should get a COVID-19 vaccine.
• People with a history of severe allergic reactions not related to vaccines or injections may still get vaccinated. People may get vaccinated even with a:
  • History of allergies to oral medications
  • Family history of severe allergic reactions
  • Milder allergy to vaccines

The ingredients in the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines include:

• mRNA
• Lipids
• Salts
• Sugars
• Buffers 

Buffers help maintain the stability of the pH solution. 

The Janssen vaccine includes the following ingredients: 

• Recombinant, replication-incompetent adenovirus type 26 expressing the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein
• Citric acid monohydrate
• Trisodium citrate dihydrate
• Ethanol
• 2-hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (HBCD), polysorbate-80
• Sodium chloride

These vaccines do not contain:

• Eggs
• Preservatives
• Latex

To learn more 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

The CDC recommends that:

• If you have had a severe allergic reaction or an immediate allergic reaction—even if it was not severe—to any ingredient in an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine, you should not get either of the currently available mRNA COVID-19 vaccines (Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna).
• If you have had a severe allergic reaction or an immediate allergic reaction to any ingredient in Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen COVID-19 vaccine, you should not get the J&J/Janssen vaccine.
• If you had an immediate allergic reaction after getting the first dose of an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine, you should not get the second dose.  
• If you are allergic to PEG, you should not get an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine. Ask your doctor if you can get the Janssen vaccine.
• If you are allergic to polysorbate, you should not get the Janssen vaccine. Ask your doctor if you can get an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine.
• If you aren’t able to get one type of COVID-19 vaccine because you are allergic to an ingredient, ask your doctor if you should get a different vaccine. 
• If you aren’t able to get the second shot of an mRNA vaccine because you had an allergic reaction, ask your doctor if you should get a different vaccine.

People with underlying medical conditions can receive the FDA-authorized COVID-19 vaccines provided they have not had an immediate or severe allergic reaction to a COVID-19 vaccine or to any of the ingredients in the vaccine. Learn more about vaccination considerations for people with underlying medical conditions. Vaccination is an important consideration for adults of any age with certain underlying medical conditions because they are at increased risk for severe illness from the virus that causes COVID-19.

Yes. The CDC recommends that if you are pregnant, you may choose to be vaccinated when it’s available to you. There is currently no evidence that antibodies formed from COVID-19 vaccination cause any problem with pregnancy, including the development of the placenta.

People who are trying to become pregnant now or who plan to try in the future may also receive the COVID-19 vaccine when it becomes available to them. There is no evidence that fertility problems are a side effect of any vaccine, including COVID-19 vaccines. There is no routine recommendation for taking a pregnancy test before you get a COVID-19 vaccine.If you have questions about getting vaccinated, talk with a healthcare provider to help you make an informed decision.

The CDC recommends:

• If you tested positive, had only mild symptoms, and were not treated for the coronavirus, you should wait at least 10 days since the start of COVID-19 symptoms and satisfy criteria to discontinue 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.

The CDC recommends:

• Wait at least 14 days before getting any other vaccine, including a flu or shingles vaccine, if you get your COVID-19 vaccine first. And if you get another vaccine first, wait at least 14 days before getting your COVID-19 vaccine.
• If a COVID-19 vaccine is inadvertently given within 14 days of another vaccine, you do not need to restart the COVID-19 vaccine series. You should still complete the series on schedule.

Currently, COVID-19 vaccines are not recommended for children:

• Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine is for ages sixteen and above
• Moderna vaccine is for ages eighteen and above
• Johnson & Johnson vaccine is for ages eighteen and above

Clinical trials are ongoing to identify a safe vaccine for children.

It depends on vaccine availability. Check with your health care provider to find out which vaccines they have available. The VaccineFinder allows you the option to search for vaccines by manufacturer.

No, there is no mandatory vaccination requirement from either the state or federal government.  Once more and more Californians see how safe and effective the COVID-19 vaccines are, we hope they will voluntarily opt to receive them.

Yes. An employer may require employees to receive FDA-approved vaccination against COVID-19 infection so long as the employer:

• Does not discriminate against or harass employees or job applicants on the basis of protected characteristics
• Provides reasonable accommodations related to disability or sincerely-held religious beliefs or practices
• Does not retaliate against anyone for engaging in protected activities

Read more at DFEH’s Employment information on COVID-19.

Talking with family and friends about the benefits of getting a COVID-19 vaccine can be hard. You can help by listening without judgement and identifying 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

The CDC has recommendations on how to talk about COVID-19 vaccines with friends and family.

A group of experts and a group of community representatives work together to make sure vaccine distribution is prioritized fairly. 

California formed a Scientific Safety Review Workgroup of experts to ensure the safety of COVID-19 vaccines. This workgroup has confirmed that the COVID-19 vaccines authorized by the FDA are safe and effective.