Important update: Healthcare facilities
CDC has updated select ways to operate healthcare systems effectively in response to COVID-19 vaccination. Learn more
UPDATE
Given new evidence on the B.1.617.2 (Delta) variant, CDC has updated the guidance for fully vaccinated people. CDC recommends universal indoor masking for all teachers, staff, students, and visitors to K-12 schools, regardless of vaccination status. Children should return to full-time in-person learning in the fall with layered prevention strategies in place.
UPDATE
The White House announced that vaccines will be required for international travelers coming into the United States, with an effective date of November 8, 2021. For purposes of entry into the United States, vaccines accepted will include FDA approved or authorized and WHO Emergency Use Listing vaccines. More information is available here.
UPDATE
Travel requirements to enter the United States are changing, starting November 8, 2021. More information is available here.

COVID-19 Vaccines for People Who Are Moderately or Severely Immunocompromised

COVID-19 Vaccines for People Who Are Moderately or Severely Immunocompromised
Updated Dec. 9, 2022
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On December 9th, 2022, CDC expanded the use of updated (bivalent) COVID-19 vaccines for children ages 6 months-5 years. Please see the CDC and FDA media statements for additional information.

What You Need to Know
  • If you are moderately or severely immunocompromised (have a weakened immune system), you are at increased risk of severe COVID-19 illness and death. Additionally, your immune response to COVID-19 vaccination may not be as strong as in people who are not immunocompromised.
  • As with vaccines for other diseases, you are protected best when you stay up to date with your COVID-19 vaccines as described below.
    • CDC recommends everyone ages 5 years and older get an updated COVID-19 booster to help restore protection that has decreased since your last vaccine. One updated booster dose is recommended for all people ages 5 years and older, regardless of whether or not they are immunocompromised.
    • CDC recommends that most people who are moderately or severely immunocompromised get an extra primary series dose if receiving the Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech series.
  • Use CDC’s COVID-19 booster tool to learn if and when you can get boosters to stay up to date with your COVID-19 vaccines.
  • You can self-attest to your moderately or severely immunocompromised status, which means you do not need any documentation of your status in order to receive COVID-19 vaccine doses you might be eligible to receive.
  • You may also be eligible for EVUSHELDTM, a medicine given by your healthcare provider every six months to help prevent you from getting COVID-19.

Children and teens ages 6 months–17 years

Adults ages 18 years and older

Staying up to date: If you have completed your primary series—but are not yet eligible for a booster—you are also considered up to date.

To find COVID-19 vaccine locations near you: Search vaccines.gov, text your ZIP code to 438829, or call 1-800-232-0233.

Who Is Moderately or Severely Immunocompromised?

Some people are immunocompromised (have a weakened immune system) due to a medical condition or from receipt of immunosuppressive medications or treatments.

Examples of medical conditions or treatments that may result in moderate to severe immunocompromise include but are not limited to:

  • Active treatment for solid tumor and hematologic malignancies
  • Hematologic malignancies associated with poor responses to COVID-19 vaccines regardless of current treatment status (e.g., chronic lymphocytic leukemia, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, multiple myeloma, acute leukemia)
  • Receipt of solid-organ transplant or an islet transplant and taking immunosuppressive therapy
  • Receipt of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T-cell therapy or hematopoietic stem cell transplant (within 2 years of transplantation or taking immunosuppressive therapy)
  • Moderate or severe primary immunodeficiency (e.g., common variable immunodeficiency disease, severe combined immunodeficiency, DiGeorge syndrome, Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome)
  • Advanced or untreated HIV infection (people with HIV and CD4 cell counts less than 200/mm3, history of an AIDS-defining illness without immune reconstitution, or clinical manifestations of symptomatic HIV)
  • Active treatment with high-dose corticosteroids (i.e., 20 or more mg of prednisone or equivalent per day when administered for 2 or more weeks), alkylating agents, antimetabolites, transplant-related immunosuppressive drugs, cancer chemotherapeutic agents classified as severely immunosuppressive, tumor necrosis factor (TNF) blockers, and other biologic agents that are immunosuppressive or immunomodulatory

Talk to your healthcare provider about COVID-19 and your medical condition.

If you are moderately or severely immunocompromised or severely allergic to COVID-19 vaccines, you may be eligible for pre-exposure prophylaxis with EVUSHELDTM. EVUSHELDTM is a medicine given every six months by your healthcare provider to help prevent you from getting COVID-19. EVUSHELDTM may offer less protection against three strains (BA.4.6, BF.7, and BA.2.75.2) of the Omicron variant. It is important to use multiple prevention measures and talk to your healthcare provider to find out if EVUSHELDTM is right for you.

Download: EVUSHELDTM EUA Fact Sheet for Patients, Parents and Caregivers

People Who Were Vaccinated Outside of the United States

People who are moderately or severely immunocompromised and who received COVID-19 vaccines not available in the United States should either complete or restart the recommended COVID-19 vaccine series, including a booster, in the United States. For more information, talk to your healthcare provider, or see the COVID-19 Interim Clinical Considerations.

Frequently Asked Questions

For Healthcare and Public Health Professionals