6 Things to Know About the Updated COVID Vaccines

Good news: Just in time for the germy fall and winter season, you can now get an updated COVID vaccine at your local pharmacy or clinic since the FDA officially gave them the ol’ big thumbs up last month.

Health experts say it's a good idea to get any of the three updated shots—Pfizer, Moderna, or Novavax—even if you’ve been vaccinated or had COVID before. (BTW: Novavax, which is a protein-based vaccine, is only for those ages 12 and older, while anyone six months of age or older can get one of the two mRNA shots.)

If you need a little motivation to actually get out there and roll up your sleeve, you should know that infections, hospitalizations, and deaths have inched upward in the US following a summer wave. A lot of people have built up immunity via infections and vaccination, CDC Director Mandy Cohen, MD, MPH said during a media briefing on August 23. But COVID is still making some people really sick, and the number of hospitalizations and deaths don’t fully reflect how common the virus actually is.

Fortunately, the new Pfizer and Moderna shots were made to protect against the KP.2 strain, which is in the Omicron variant family, and is a close relative of the currently dominant KP.3.1.1. The Novavax vaccine targets the JN.1 strain, which isn’t circulating as much but is related to the Omicron variant—meaning this vax can still offer protection from the viruses that are spreading right now.

Of course, you may be thinking, Do I really need another shot if I have four years’ worth of immunity? And the answer is yes, you do. First, protection from both infections and vaccination generally wanes over time (it only lasts about three months) so you could still get super sick if you catch COVID. And second, every time this virus infects another person, it’s given an opportunity to mutate into a more dangerous version of itself, which could cause more severe disease, particularly for older people and folks with weakened immune systems.

The CDC is currently predicting a similar or more mild COVID season compared to last year, but Dr. Cohen said this could change depending on how much of the US population gets this updated vaccine. Last year, COVID vaccination rates were lower than experts had hoped for; by November 18, 2023, barely 16% of US adults had received a shot. “If the number of people who ultimately get vaccinated against flu, COVID, and RSV is lower than expected, then that could mean more hospitalizations, not fewer,” Dr. Cohen said. “So the power is in our hands.”

Here are the most important things to know about the updated COVID vaccines.

Click on any question below to jump directly to the answers you need most.

When exactly should I get an updated COVID vaccine?

I recently had COVID. Should I still get an updated COVID vaccine?

Can I get the COVID and flu shots at the same time?

What does it mean if I don’t get side effects after getting my COVID vaccine?

Can an updated COVID vaccine protect against long COVID?

Are the updated COVID vaccines free?

You can get any of the three updated shots as soon as you’re able to book an appointment, but if you were vaccinated against COVID recently, you’ll want to wait at least two months after your last dose, the FDA says. That way you can maximize the amount of protection you have against the virus.

If you’ve never been vaccinated against COVID, you’ll only need one dose of the updated Pfizer or Moderna shot and two doses of the updated Novavax vaccine taken three weeks apart to be considered “up to date.”

Thinking about waiting until later in the year so your boost of immunity can last a bit longer into the winter season? You probably shouldn’t, Inessa Gendlina, MD, PhD, an infectious disease physician at the Montefiore Health System in New York, tells SELF.

Experts still can’t reliably predict when COVID ebbs and flows like they can for the flu, she says. So you want to give your body enough time to develop fresh immunity to COVID (at least a few weeks after vaccination) before the virus spreads even more in the fall and winter months. Plus, “we’re certainly having a stronger and more prolonged summer wave of COVID right now, so I wouldn’t wait,” says Dr. Gendlina, who’s also an associate professor of medicine at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

And although the virus spreads all year and can spike randomly, Dr. Cohen says that COVID-related hospitalizations and deaths are still the highest in the winter, “so getting the most updated vaccine prior to those months continues to be recommended.”

Yes! A previous case of COVID, no matter how long ago it was, doesn’t give you lifelong immunity to the virus. That said, you may want to delay vaccination by at least three months if you recently tested positive, the CDC says. The chances you get sick again within that time are slim (but not impossible!) because it takes about that much time for your immunity to wane. So waiting a bit can help you really take advantage of the protection your infection gave you.

If you have a weakened immune system, live with someone who’s vulnerable to severe COVID, or there’s a surge of infections in your area, the CDC says you could get the updated vaccine a little sooner if you’d like.

Yes, you can—and you should, Dr. Gendlina says. Not only is it perfectly safe to do so, but it’s also more convenient to make one appointment and get them both out of the way. (In fact, a combination vaccine for both viruses is currently in the works.)

Dr. Gendlina says it doesn’t matter if you choose to get both pokes in the same or different arms. But if you know you’re prone to soreness, then you may want to get the vaccines on separate arms, or at least on your nondominant one, so your pain isn’t too intense.

And while we’re on the topic, you can also get a single dose of the RSV vaccine with your COVID and flu shots, the CDC says. (The RSV jab is a one-and-done deal, so you don’t need to get it annually!) The shot is recommended for all adults ages 75 and older and for those ages 60–74 who are at high risk of severe RSV, which is a common respiratory virus that can be especially dangerous for babies and older adults.

The only potential downside of getting all of these shots at once is that you might deal with more or stronger (but totally normal) side effects, like headache, fatigue, muscle aches, chills, fever, and nausea. They will go away in a few days, and you can certainly take steps to feel better after you get vaccinated, like taking over-the-counter pain relievers if your doctor says it’s safe and applying a cool washcloth to your arm.

Everyone responds to vaccines differently; some people might need to rest for a day or two, while others can go about their daily activities with ease. Regardless of your reaction, though, the vaccine is still doing its job.

“If you don’t have any symptoms post vaccination, that’s great, good for you! Some of us may be a little bit jealous that you’re able to tolerate a vaccine with no symptoms,” Dr. Gendlina says. “But if you do get a reaction, it’s not alarming. It’s reassuring to us because that means the vaccine is doing exactly what it was intended to do.”

It sure can—and the same is true of past COVID shots. Basically, vaccines reduce the chances you come down with a serious case of the disease and that you get infected at all. In a study published in March in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine, researchers looked at more than 20 million people and found that having at least one dose of any coronavirus vaccine prevented long COVID by as much as 52%.

“Something that continues to be forgotten is that the only way you get long COVID is by having COVID, and vaccines can help prevent COVID,” said Peter Marks, MD, PhD, director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research. “I have a tremendous empathy having seen people struggle with long COVID in their 30s and 40s, people who you might think were otherwise low risk. If I could reduce that risk by 50%…I would want to at least personally avail myself of the benefits of vaccination.”

That said, it’s still possible to develop the chronic condition after an infection, even if you’re vaccinated, which is why it’s important to practice other preventive measures, like wearing a mask in public, testing when you or someone in your household has symptoms, and running air purifiers (or opening windows) in shared spaces.

You can get vaccinated against COVID at no cost if you have Medicare, Medicaid, or private insurance, according to Dr. Cohen. But if you’re uninsured or underinsured, free shots may be harder to come by due to the closing of the CDC’s Bridge Access Program in August.

Dr. Cohen did say, however, that the CDC has allotted $62 million to state and local immunization programs so they can buy updated COVID shots for people without insurance or those whose policies don’t cover all vaccine-related costs. If you fall into this category, Dr. Cohen recommends reaching out to your local health department to see if they’re offering free vaccines.

In the meantime, remember that your personal risk for getting seriously sick with COVID isn’t necessarily the same as those around you, including your coworkers, Pilates classmates, or fellow grocery shoppers. Stay home when you’re sick. Throw a mask on in public places. And get vaccinated.

Related:

• A Massive New Study Suggests Getting COVID Might Really Mess With People’s Mental Health
• When Should You Take a Rapid COVID Test?
• People Who Have Had COVID Face a Much Higher Risk of Chronic Fatigue, Study Says

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