Answers to Your Questions About COVID Boosters
This post was updated on Jan. 11, 2022.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has expanded its recommendation that certain groups get boosters of vaccines against COVID-19.
The most recent advice, issued Jan. 5, expands the list of those eligible to receive a booster dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID vaccine to everyone ages 12 or older. Anyone 18 or older can receive a booster of the Moderna vaccine or the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
Since September 2021, when the CDC recommended that certain high-risk groups receive a booster, the agency has been expanding this advice to larger groups.
The CDC says it’s OK to mix and match doses of the three vaccines against COVID-19 when deciding on which booster to get. People who received one type of vaccine can obtain increased protection by getting a booster of that vaccine or either of the others. People who are getting their initial doses of a two-dose series should still get the same vaccine for their first and second doses.
Eric Sachinwalla, MD, Medical Director of Infection Prevention and Control for Einstein Medical Center Philadelphia, offers the following advice for people who may be eligible to receive boosters.
