Most people just need one dose of the 2023 updated COVID-19 shot. The specific recommendations for various ages, previous vaccine status, and brands are in the tables in this post!
Back in September 2023, the CDC recommended that everyone aged 6 months and older get the latest COVID-19 vaccine. People aged 5+ years just need one dose of the updated Pfizer or Moderna vaccine, whether they’ve been vaccinated before or not. People aged 12+ years can also get 1 dose of Novavax if they are previously vaccinated (or 2 doses if not). For kids under 5, it depends on the previous vaccines they have received. See the tables in this post for all the details.
As of Fall 2023, the latest updated COVID-19 vaccines target only the XBB.15 strain of the Omicron variant and are effective at neutralizing closely related XBB variants that are circulating. This formulation is different from the original vaccine (which targeted the original virus—as in what was circulating in 2020 and is no longer around) AND it’s also different from the COVID-19 vaccines available in Fall 2022 (which targeted both the original and the BA.4 and BA.5 Omicron variants circulating at the time).
In other words, it is truly “updated” to be relevant to our current phase of the pandemic and can re-up your protection against hospitalization and death from COVID-19.
The simplest answer to which vaccine you need to get now is: if you’re over age 5 and have been vaccinated before, get one dose of the 2023 updated vaccine—any brand.
If you’re not 5, or have not been vaccinated before, it’s more complicated. The specific recommendations for various age groups, vaccine dose history, and brand available are outlined in the tables below:
For those who are immunocompromised: you may be eligible for additional doses. Check here for more information.
For anyone who recently had COVID-19: you can wait at least 3 months after your infection for an updated shot.
All in all, the main takeaway is this:
If you are aged 5+ years, you just need one dose of the updated Pfizer or updated Moderna vaccine, regardless of whether you were previously vaccinated or not. If you are aged 12+ years, you also have the option of getting an updated Novavax vaccine (1 dose if previously vaccinated and 2 if not). For those who are aged < 5 years, it depends on your vaccine history.
In all scenarios, getting an updated shot this fall is well worth it!
Stay safe, stay well,
Those Nerdy Girls
p.s. If this all seems hard to keep track of, we get it…it took three public health PhD’s on our team to sort through the CDC guidance to write this post!
