COVID booster COVID booster
Stories About
COVID booster
The COVID-19 vaccine will be updated in hopes of targeting the strains of omicron that will be circulating later this year. Esteban Felix/AP hide caption
Starting May 11 most people will have to pay for those at-home test kits for COVID-19, as the federal government's declaration of a COVID-19 public health emergency officially ends. Alex Wong/Getty Images hide caption
A nurse prepares a syringe of a COVID-19 vaccine at an inoculation station in Jackson, Miss., in 2022. An advisory committee for the FDA voted Thursday to simplify the country's approach to COVID vaccination. Rogelio V. Solis/AP hide caption
Licensed vocational nurse Denise Saldana vaccinates Pri DeSilva, associate director of Individual and Corporate Giving, with a fourth Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine booster at the Dr. Kenneth Williams Health Center in Los Angeles, Nov. 1, 2022. Damian Dovarganes/AP hide caption
The FDA considers a major shift in the nation's COVID vaccine strategy
Vials of the reformulated Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 booster move through production at a plant in Kalamazoo, Mich. Pfizer Inc. hide caption
The Biden administration plans to offer updated booster shots in the fall. Mario Tama/Getty Images hide caption
Summer boosters for people under 50 shelved in favor of updated boosters in the fall
First grader Rihanna Chihuaque, 7, receives a COVID-19 vaccine at Arturo Velasquez Institute in Chicago last November. Scott Olson/Getty Images hide caption
FDA authorizes first COVID booster for children ages 5 to 11
US President Joe Biden receives a second booster shot of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine a day after the US authorized a fourth dose of either the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna Covid-19 vaccines for people 50 and older NICHOLAS KAMM / AFP via Getty Images hide caption
A booster dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine is prepared during a vaccination clinic on Dec. 29 in Lawrence, Mass. The FDA is now shortening the wait time between the second dose and the booster to five months from six months. Charles Krupa/AP hide caption
A woman receives a booster shot at a pop-up vaccination clinic in Las Vegas on Dec. 21. Ethan Miller/Getty Images hide caption
People line up outside a free COVID-19 vaccination site on Dec. 3 in Washington, D.C. Many areas are stepping up vaccination and booster shots as more cases of the omicron variant of the coronavirus are detected in the United States. Samuel Corum/Getty Images hide caption
A Santa Claus in Germany wears a surgical mask in December 2020. If you're planning to take the kids to see Santa this year, experts say it's safest to keep everyone's masks on. Caroline Seidel/picture alliance via Getty Images hide caption
For now, a person is considered fully vaccinated against COVID two weeks after receiving the second dose of an mRNA vaccine or the single dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. But some health experts think that definition should be updated to include a booster shot. JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
A man is vaccinated against COVID-19 at a clinic in Johannesburg, South Africa. The omicron variant appears to be driving a surge in South Africa. New studies suggest that vaccines might not be as effective against this variant but that a booster shot can be helpful. Shiraaz Mohamed/AP hide caption
Studies suggest sharp drop in vaccine protection vs. omicron — yet cause for optimism
Booster shots are authorized for all U.S. adults, but some are wondering if they need them. A nurse fills a syringe with a Pfizer-BioNTech dose at a pop-up vaccine clinic in the Arleta neighborhood of Los Angeles. Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
Safeway pharmacist Shahrzad Khoobyari administers a Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 booster shot into the arm of Norman Solomon in San Rafael, Calif., in October. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images hide caption
A health care worker administers a third dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at a senior living facility in Worcester, Pa., in August. Hannah Beier/Bloomberg via Getty Images hide caption
A woman receives a Pfizer vaccination booster shot from a nurse in Los Angeles. California Department of Public Health officials say that no fully vaccinated adult should be denied a COVID-19 booster shot in the state. Gary Coronado/Los Angeles Times via Getty Imag hide caption
Booster shots are now recommended for millions of Americans. Alejandra Villa Loarca/Newsday via Getty Images hide caption