Three COVID-19 vaccines are available in the U.S.:

• Pfizer BioNTech (also known as Comirnaty, which is pronounced "koe-mir-na-tee")
• Moderna
• Johnson and Johnson

Adults 18 and older can get the Pfizer, Moderna, or Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Children 6 months to 17 years may only receive the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine. Not all vaccine sites serve both children and adults or offer every vaccine type for each age group.

The vaccines are administered through shots in the arm.

Minors

Parents should talk to their doctor or other health care provider if they have concerns or questions specific to their child's own medical situation.   

For more information about the COVID-19 vaccine, including written consent for appointments, you can contact the Vaccine Reservation Call Center.

With the COVID-19 Vaccine Finder, you can find vaccination sites, mobile buses, and pop-ups closest to you that:

• Accept walk-ups
• Offer or require appointments
• Are accessible for people with disabilities
• Provide a specific vaccine type

NYC residents who are homebound or 65 and older can get in-home COVID-19 Pfizer vaccinations.

If you’re eligible, you can get:

• Primary series of the vaccine
• Third dose if you’re moderately or severely immunocompromised
• Boosters

You can sign up for in-home vaccinations online or by phone. The City will call you back within one week to schedule an appointment.

Online

Request vaccination at home.

By Phone

Second Doses

The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines require two doses. Both doses should be of the same vaccine. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine requires only one dose. 

At your appointment for the first Pfizer or Moderna dose, you should schedule a second-dose appointment. If you left without scheduling the second appointment, you should contact the site where you got your first shot for additional information.

If you got your first dose from an NYC Health + Hospitals or NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) site, you can confirm your scheduled appointment or make a second appointment with the Vaccine Reservation Call Center.

If you got your first dose from DOHMH, you can also schedule a second-dose appointment online.

Booster Shots

The updated COVID-19 vaccine boosters are recommended for everyone 12 and older. They are called "bivalent" booster vaccines because half of the dose is specifically targeting the omicron subvariants that account for nearly all recent infections in NYC. These boosters increase your immunity from your initial vaccination series and previous boosters.

You can get your updated bivalent booster if it has been at least two months since your most recent COVID-19 vaccine dose.

If you recently had COVID-19, you can wait to get a booster until 90 days after you first felt symptoms, or, if you had no symptoms, 90 days after your test date.

If you are at higher risk for severe COVID-19 or of getting COVID-19 again, get a booster as soon as you are eligible. Talk to your medical provider about when you should get your next vaccine.

The Health Department recommends both the Pfizer bivalent booster — available for people 12 and older — and the Moderna version — available for people 18 and older. You can get either booster, it does not matter whether your previous dose was a Pfizer or Moderna vaccine.

Boosters for Children

Children ages 5 through 11 years who received Pfizer primary series should receive a booster dose.

Children ages 6 to 11 years who received the Moderna primary series, as well as children younger than 5 years, cannot get a booster at this time.

Further Assistance

You can talk with a nurse if you need more information and answers to questions about the COVID-19 vaccine and booster.

If you aren't sure if you are eligible you can discuss with your medical provider.

You may request a reasonable accommodation to participate in the New York City Health Department’s COVID-19 vaccination program.

Requests for accommodations should be made as soon as possible before scheduling a vaccination appointment at your preferred City site in New York.

You may also visit a vaccination site without an appointment for immediate service.

Each City-run vaccination site:

• Has an accessible entrance and exit, restroom and pathway to the vaccination area.
• Is equipped with video translation services for more than 240 languages including American Sign Language.
• Has at least one Disability Access and Functional Needs (DAFN) Coordinator who can help you during your visit.

Most sites will not require you to complete any paper documentation during your visit. If paper documentation is required, the DAFN Coordinator will be there to provide help.

You may bring a companion, personal care attendant, personal care aide, family member, or other person to help you during your appointment. This can include someone who can interpret for you.

You may also bring a service animal or mobility device such as a wheelchair or walker.

Online

You can email your request for a reasonable accommodation to hubaccess@health.nyc.gov.

You can also go to the Disability Access page to learn more about requesting reasonable accommodations.

By Phone

You can schedule transportation to your vaccine appointment if you are 65 or older and:

• Cannot use public transportation,
• Cannot use private transportation, and
• Cannot rely on friends or family members for transport.

You must already have a vaccine appointment before scheduling transportation. However, you do not need an appointment for City-run vaccination sites.

If you are between the ages of 60 and 64, visit the Transportation for Seniors page instead for other transportation options.

Access-a-Ride

If you already use Access-a-Ride, you can schedule transportation to your appointment as you normally would.

Private Businesses

The Key to NYC vaccine mandate ended on March 7, 2022. The program required employees and customers of indoor dining, fitness, and entertainment venues to prove they were vaccinated.

Businesses previously covered by Key to NYC rules can still require proof of vaccination or masking indoors if they choose.

The Department of Health and Mental Hygiene workplace vaccine mandate (separate from Key to NYC) for all private businesses in New York City remains in effect through November 1, 2022. After November 1, the private sector vaccine mandate will become optional. Employees covered by this mandate are required to show their employers proof that they received the first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine by December 27, 2021. Proof of a second dose (for Pfizer or Moderna vaccines) is required 45 days later.

Employers must:

• Post an official DOHMH sign in an obvious spot
• Keep a record of each worker’s proof and any reasonable accommodations
• Ensure employees get their second dose

Learn more about the mandate.

Business owners can access resources and assistance from Small Business Services (SBS) on the Coronavirus (COVID-19) and Businesses page.

Public Schools

There is no general vaccine mandate for students attending public school. Vaccination is no longer required for students ages 5 and up participating in high-risk sports and extracurricular activities.

All DOE employees and City contracted child care/after-school staff were also required to submit proof of at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine by October 1, 2021. Learn more on the Coronavirus (COVID-19) and Schools page.

Private Schools

All full-time, part-time, and volunteer staff working in private schools, including independent schools and religious schools, must be vaccinated against COVID-19. At this time there is no vaccine mandate for students attending private schools.

Learn more on the Private School Vaccine Mandate page.

City Workers

To learn about mandates for City government workers, visit the Coronavirus (COVID-19) and City Workers page.

Healthcare Workers

In New York State, all healthcare workers, including staff at hospitals and long-term care facilities that are public or private, were required to be vaccinated against COVID-19 as of September 27, 2021.

These facilities include: 

• Adult care 
• Hospitals
• Nursing homes
• Other congregate care settings

The State Department of Health requires these facilities to develop and implement a policy mandating employee vaccination, with limited exceptions for those with religious or medical reasons.

You should contact your employer’s human resources department for more information.

The $100 vaccine incentive program ended on February 28, 2022. 

These incentives were offered only to those who were vaccinated at one of the following sites:

• A City-run site that uses the vax4nyc appointment platform
• The City's in-home vaccination program
• A NYC Health + Hospital and Gotham Health vaccine site
• A SOMOS clinic

In order to be eligible for an incentive you must have received your first dose or booster dose at an eligible site, within the eligible time period. If the providers were unable to verify you received your vaccine within the required time windows at the eligible sites, you will not be issued an incentive.

The last day to report an issue was July 31, 2022. No new cards will be issued after August 31, 2022. 

Side Effects

You should call your health care provider if you have side effects that concern you or do not go away after a few days, or if the redness or soreness where you got the shot increases after 24 hours. 

You can also report side effects to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS), managed by the CDC and Food and Drug Administration. 

Reports can be made online or by phone. The information you report will be kept confidential.

Online

Report side effects to VAERS.

By Phone

You can give feedback about policies, services, and staff of the City’s COVID-19 vaccine program.