1. Home
  2. Resources
  3. Boosters

Updated and Original COVID-19 Vaccines

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends everyone to stay up to date with COVID-19 vaccination.

When are you up to Date?

Everyone aged 6 years and older.
You are up to date when you get 1 updated Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine.
Children aged 6 months—5 years who got the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine

You are up to date if you are:

  • Aged 6 Months—4 years and you get 3 COVID-19 vaccine doses, including at least 1 updated COVID-19 dose.
  • Aged 5 years and you get at least 1 updated COVID-19 vaccine dose.

Children aged 6 months—5 years who got the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine.
You are up to date when you get 2 Moderna COVID-19 vaccine doses, including at least 1 updated COVID-19 vaccine dose.
People who are unable or choose not to get a recommended mRNA vaccine.
You are up to date when you get the Novavax COVID-19 vaccine doses approved for your age group.

Frequently Asked Questions

Updated Vaccines:
• The updated vaccines protect against both the original virus that causes COVID-19 and the Omicron variant BA.4 and BA.5. Two COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers, Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, have developed updated COVID-19 vaccines.

Original vaccines:

  • Previous COVID-19 vaccines are called “original” because they were designed to protect against the original virus that causes COVID-19.
  • As of April 18, 2023, the original Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines are no longer authorized for use by the FDA in the United States. Updated Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines are being used for all age groups.

The CDC now recommends for certain groups of people who are considered to be moderately to severely immunocompromised (ie. have a weakened immune system) to receive an additional updated COVID-19 vaccine.

  • People aged 65 years and older may get 1 additional dose of COVID-19 vaccine 4 or more months after the 1st updated COVID-19 vaccine.
  • People who are moderately or severely immunocompromised may get 1 additional dose of updated COVID-19 vaccine 2 or more months after the 1st updated COVID-19 vaccine.

For more information about who qualifies for additional updated doses, please visit CDC Interim Clinical Considerations.

There is no required proof outside of a self-attestation. A self-attestation is a statement indicating that you have self-determined that you are eligible to receive an additional updated COVID-19 vaccine.

Self-attestation forms are available at every County-run vaccine clinic. To view the self-attestation, please see the following:

No, vaccines used for the primary vaccination series should be the same product or brand. However, if the mRNA vaccine product given for the first two doses is not available or is unknown, either Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine (mRNA COVID-19 vaccines) may be administered for the third primary dose.

Contact your provider directly to confirm if you need to bring your vaccine card.

If you make an appointment at an SB County Vaccine Clinic or special pop-up event please bring your vaccine card.

If you have lost your vaccine card please refer to the County’s COVID-19 Vaccine Cards page.

Up to date vaccination status varies on different factors, such as vaccine administration of the Original and Updated COVID-19 vaccines.

Please review the COVID-19 Vaccine Eligibility Chart for more information.

Yes, people who are pregnant are eligible and encouraged to receive an updated bivalent dose. People who are pregnant or recently pregnant are more likely to get severely ill with COVID-19 compared with people who ate not pregnant. Find more resources on CDPH’s Pregnancy and COVID-19 Vaccines website.

FDA Authorizations for Healthcare Providers and Fact Sheets for Patients

Pfizer-BioNTech (Comirnaty) Fact Sheet:
Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine, Bivalent

Moderna (Spikevax) Fact Sheet:
Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine, Bivalent

Novavax Fact Sheet:
Novavax COVID-19 Vaccine, Adjuvante