COVID-19 Vaccine

Moderna, Pfizer Updated COVID-19 Vaccine (September 2023)

According to the latest guidance from the FDA and CDC:

• Everyone aged 5 years and older should get 1 dose of the updated Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine to protect against serious illness from COVID-19.
• People who are moderately or severely immunocompromised may get additional doses of updated COVID-19 vaccines. Talk to your healthcare provider about additional updated doses.
• Children aged 6 months–4 years need multiple doses of COVID-19 vaccines to be up to date, including at least 1 dose of updated COVID-19 vaccine.
• People with health insurance should get vaccine from their medical provider or at local pharmacies. Those without health insurance or with health plans that don’t cover the cost of vaccine can come to scheduled Health Department clinics as they become available, or go to local pharmacies participating in the federal Bridge Program (CVS, Walgreens, etc.) or to Federally Qualified Health Centers, like Chase Brexton.
• Vaccination remains the best protection against COVID-19-related hospitalization and death. Vaccination also reduces your chance of suffering the effects of Long COVID, which can develop during or following acute infection and last for an extended duration. If you have not received a COVID-19 vaccine in the past 2 months, get an updated COVID-19 vaccine  to protect yourself this fall and winter.

Stay Up-to-Date with COVID-19 Vaccines

Unsure whether you are up-to-date with your COVID boosters? Click here for CDC guidance.

If you believe you are moderately or severely immunocompromised, contact your healthcare provider for specific guidance.

Health Department Vaccination Clinics

UPDATE (September 12, 2023): The COVID-19 public health emergency has ended and that means your next COVID-19 vaccination experience may be different. In the past, most costs associated with COVID-19 vaccination were covered through funding from the Federal Government. Now, those costs will be covered by your health insurance, similar to getting a flu shot or other regular vaccination at a pharmacy or from your healthcare provider. For a list of area COVID-19 vaccination clinics, please visit vaccines.gov.

While you may have received a previous COVID-19 vaccination from your local health department, most individuals with private health insurance or Medicare/Medicaid will no longer be eligible for vaccination at HCHD clinics. We will focus our vaccination efforts on those who are uninsured or underinsured. The Federal Government created the Bridge Access Program, which is a partnership with local pharmacies, local health departments and some local healthcare providers to continue to provide COVID-19 vaccination at no cost to this segment of the population. HCHD expects to receive a limited supply of the updated COVID-19 vaccine that will be reserved for this population. At this time, we do not expect to hold large public COVID-19 vaccination clinics. Additional information about our eligibility requirements and clinic schedule will be shared as it becomes available.