April 2023
April 19: Following FDA regulatory action, CDC has taken steps to simplify COVID-19 vaccine recommendations and allow more flexibility for people at higher risk who want the option of added protection from additional COVID-19 vaccine doses.
Read CDC media statement.
December 2022
December 9: The CDC expands the use of updated (bivalent) COVID-19 vaccines for children ages 6 months through 5 years. Children ages 6 months through 5 years who previously completed a Moderna primary series are eligible to receive a Moderna bivalent booster 2 months after their final primary series dose. Children ages 6 months through 4 years who are currently completing a Pfizer primary series will receive a Pfizer bivalent vaccine as their third primary dose.
Read CDC media statement.
October 2022
October 19: The CDC follows the FDA's authorization to allow for Novavax monovalent COVID-19 boosters for adults. This action gives people ages 18 years and older the option to receive a Novavax monovalent booster instead of an updated (bivalent) Pfizer or Moderna booster if they have completed primary series vaccination but have not previously received a COVID-19 booster—and if they cannot or will not receive mRNA vaccines.
Read CDC media statement
October 12: The CDC expands the updated COVID-19 vaccines to include children ages 5 through 11. The bivalent Pfizer vaccine is now approved for children ages 5 through 11 years, and from Moderna for children and adolescents ages 6 through 17 years.
Read CDC media statement
September 2022
September 2: The CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices’ (ACIP) recommends the use of updated COVID-19 boosters from Pfizer-BioNTech for people ages 12 years and older and from Moderna for people ages 18 years and older.
Read CDC media statement
August 2022
August 22: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends the use of the Novavax COVID-19 vaccine as another primary series option for adolescents ages 12 through 17. This recommendation follows FDA’s authorization to authorize the vaccine for this age group under emergency use.
Read CDC media statement
July 2022
July 19: The CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices’ (ACIP) recommended the Novavax’s COVID-19 vaccine be used as another primary series option for adults ages 18 years and older.
Novavax’s COVID-19 vaccine, which will be available, is an important tool in the pandemic and provides a more familiar type of COVID-19 vaccine technology for adults. Having multiple types of vaccines offers more options and flexibility for the public, jurisdictions, and vaccine providers.
Read CDC media statement
June 2022
June 18: The CDC recommends that all children 6 months through 5 years of age should receive a COVID-19 vaccine. This expands eligibility for vaccination to nearly 20 million additional children and means that all Americans ages 6 months and older are now eligible for vaccination.
Parents and caregivers can now get their children 6 months through 5 years of age vaccinated with the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines to better protect them from COVID-19. All children, including children who have already had COVID-19, should get vaccinated. Safety and other common concerns are addressed by CDC in article 6 Things to Know about COVID-19 Vaccination for Children.
May 2022
May 19: CDC now recommends that children ages 5 through 11 years should receive a booster shot 5 months after their initial Pfizer-BioNTech vaccination series.
Read CDC media statement
March 2022
March 30: Metro Health will be following the CDC’s recommendations to allow certain immunocompromised individuals and people age 50 and older who received an initial Pfizer or Moderna booster dose at least 4 months ago to be eligible for another booster to increase their protection against severe disease from COVID-19.
In addition, adults who received a primary vaccine and booster dose of the J&J vaccine at least 4 months ago may now receive an additional booster dose using the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine.
Read CDC media statement
January 2022
January 7: The CDC recommends the Moderna booster at 5 months, shortening the interval from 6 months to 5 months. This means that people who initially received an mRNA vaccine series – two doses of Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech – can now receive an mRNA booster shot 5 months after completing their initial series.
Read CDC media statement
January 4: The CDC recommends shortening the interval for the Pfizer booster vaccine from 6 months to 5 months for people who received the vaccine. This means that people can now receive the Pfizer booster shot 5 months after completing their Pfizer primary series. The booster interval recommendation for people who received the J&J vaccine (2 months) or the Moderna vaccine (6 months), has not changed.
Additionally, CDC is recommending that moderately or severely immunocompromised 5–11-year-olds receive an additional primary dose of vaccine 28 days after their second shot. At this time, only the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine is authorized and recommended for children aged 5-11.
Read CDC media statement
December 2021
December 16: The CDC recommends individuals receive an mRNA (Pfizer or Moderna) COVID-19 vaccine over Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine. For those that are allergic to the mRNA or prefer the J&J, the vaccine will be available at Metro Health pop-up clinics. Read the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) updated COVID-19 vaccine recommendations.
December 13: On November 24, 2021, the World Health Organization reported the first detected cases of the Omicron variant in South Africa and classified it as a variant of concern. On December 13, Metro Health reported two cases of the COVID-19 Omicron variant have been detected in Bexar County through genome testing conducted by UT Health San Antonio.
San Antonio Metro Health and local agencies are monitoring this situation closely and conducting ongoing genomic surveillance in Bexar County. Find more information about the Omicron variant.
November 2021
November 19: The CDC expanded recommendations for booster shots to include all adults ages 18 years and older who received a Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccine at least six months after their second dose. For more information, visit the CDC website.
October 2021
On October 21, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommended the use of booster shots for recipients of Moderna and J&J’s COVID-19 vaccines.
People in the following groups are eligible to receive a Pfizer or Moderna booster shot at least 6 months after completion of their primary series:
Additionally, booster shots are recommended for everyone 18 and older at least 2 months after receiving their J&J/Janssen COVID-19 vaccine. Today’s recommendations mean everyone in these groups, regardless of what vaccine they initially received, are eligible to get a COVID-19 booster shot.
Data show that administration of a booster shot may result in increases in antibody levels and may result in increased effectiveness compared to primary vaccination. For example, people who were not fully vaccinated were over 10 times more likely to be hospitalized and 11 times more likely to die compared with fully vaccinated people.
September 2021
Starting September 29, CDC recommends that the following groups should receive a booster shot of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at least 6 months after completing their Pfizer-BioNTech primary series (i.e., the first 2 doses of a COVID-19 vaccine):
- people aged 65 years and older
- residents aged 18 years and older in long-term care settings
- people aged 50–64 years with underlying medical conditions
CDC also recommends that the following groups may receive a booster shot of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at least 6 months after completing their Pfizer-BioNTech primary series, based on their individual benefits and risks:
- people aged 18–49 years with underlying medical conditions
- people aged 18–64 years at increased risk for COVID-19 exposure and transmission because of occupational or institutional setting
The FDA and CDC will continue to evaluate new data and may recommend booster shots for other populations and vaccine recipients soon. Please see Booster Vaccination FAQ for more information on eligibility.
August 2021
As of Friday, August 13, 2021, people who are moderately to severely immunocompromised are eligible for a third dose of an mRNA vaccine. This includes people who have:
- been receiving active cancer treatment for tumors or cancers of the blood
- received an organ transplant and are taking medicine to suppress the immune system
- received a stem cell transplant within the last 2 years or are taking medicine to suppress the immune system
- moderate or severe primary immunodeficiency (such as DiGeorge syndrome, Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome)
- advanced or untreated HIV infection
- active treatment with high-dose corticosteroids or other drugs that may suppress your immune response
The treating healthcare provider for the above conditions is best situated to determine eligibility and optimal timing in relation to other therapies, and to provide the third dose. Read the CDC's recommendations about the third dose.
May 2021
As of Wednesday, May 12, 2021, everyone age 12 and older is now eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine in Texas. The state’s Expert Vaccine Allocation Panel recommended opening vaccination to everyone who falls under the current Food and Drug Administration emergency use authorizations. All vaccines are authorized for people age 18 and older. The Pfizer vaccine is authorized for people 12 and older.
All COVID-19 vaccines are available at no cost, and no proof of citizenship is needed.
DSHS has directed vaccine providers to prioritize people 80 years old or older when scheduling appointments and accommodate anyone in that age group who presents for vaccination, whether or not they have an appointment, by immediately moving them to the front of the line. That will ensure vaccination of anyone 80 or older with as small a burden on themselves as possible.
COVID-19 vaccines teach our immune systems how to recognize and fight the virus that causes COVID-19. It typically takes two weeks after vaccination for the body to build protection (immunity) against the virus that causes COVID-19. That means it is possible a person could still get COVID-19 before or just after vaccination and then get sick because the vaccine did not have enough time to provide protection.
People are considered fully protected two weeks after their second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine.