CDC Advises Moderately or Severely Immunocompromised Teens, Adults to Get Fourth COVID-19 Shot

By

Devin Afshin

1 minute

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advised that moderately or severely immunocompromised teens and adults receive a total of four doses of COVID-19 vaccine. The four doses are made up of a primary series of three doses of an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine, plus one booster of an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine (fourth dose).

Primary Series COVID-19 Vaccine Age Group No. of Doses to Complete Primary Series and Timing Booster and Timing
Pfizer-BioNTech 12+ years 3 doses: 2nd dose given 3 weeks (21 days) after 1st dose 1 booster given ≥3 months after 3rd dose
Moderna 18+ years 3 doses: 2nd dose given 4 weeks (28 days) after 1st dose; 3rd dose given ≥4 weeks (28 days) after 2nd dose 1 booster given ≥3 months after 3rd dose

If the individual teen or adult with a moderately or severely immunocompromised status has received the one-dose J&J/Janssen vaccine, the CDC advises they get a second dose of either Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine (mRNA vaccines) and also receive a booster, for a total of three doses.

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Editor’s note: this post was originally published on February 25, 2022 and updated on April 22, 2024.

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