10/18/2021 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 10/19/2021 15:02
What You Need to Know
Timing of Your Second Shot
The timing between your first and second shots depends on which vaccine you received. If you received the:
You should get your second shot as close to the recommended 3-week or 4-week interval as possible. However, your second dose may be given up to 6 weeks (42 days) after the first dose, if necessary. You should not get the second dose early. There is currently limited information on the effectiveness of receiving your second shot earlier than recommended or later than 6 weeks after the first shot.
However, if you do receive your second shot of COVID-19 vaccine up to 4 days before or at any time after the recommended date, you do not have to restart the vaccine series, and you can be considered fully vaccinated. This guidance might be updated as more information becomes available.
Scheduling Your Second Shot
Your CDC COVID-19 Vaccination Record Card and Your Second Shot
At your first vaccination appointment, you should have received a CDC COVID-19 Vaccination Record card that tells you what COVID-19 vaccine you received, the date you received it, and where you received it.
Learn more about what to do if you need a copy of your CDC COVID-19 Vaccination Record card.
After Getting Your Second Shot
You may experience side effects after getting a COVID-19 vaccine. These are normal signs that your body is building protection. Get helpful tips on how to reduce any pain or discomfort.
Cases of myocarditis and pericarditis in adolescents and young adults have been reported more often after getting the second dose than after the first dose of one of the two mRNA COVID-19 vaccines, Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna. These reports are rare and the known and potential benefits of COVID-19 vaccination outweigh the known and potential risks, including the possible risk of myocarditis or pericarditis.
Usev-safe on your smartphone to tell CDC about any side effects after getting the COVID-19 vaccine. If you enter your second shot in your v-safe account, the system will send you daily health check-ins. Please note that v-safe is not automatically notified when you receive a second shot of vaccine, so you must enter the information yourself.
When You Are Fully Vaccinated
People are considered fully vaccinated:
COVID-19 vaccines are not interchangeable. If you received a Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, you should get the same product for your second shot.
You are not fully vaccinated if:
Booster shots are now available to specific groups of people. However, everyone is still considered fully vaccinated two weeks after their second dose in a 2-shot series, such as the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines, or two weeks after a single-dose vaccine, such as the J&J/Janssen vaccine.