The next round of COVID-19 vaccines is here. Find a 2024-2025 COVID-19 vaccine near you by searching at Vaccines.gov.

Q: Who should get the 2024-2025 COVID-19 vaccine?

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends everyone ages 6 months and older should receive the 2024–2025 COVID-19 vaccine, regardless of previous COVID-19 vaccination or infection.

Q: When should I get the 2024-2025 COVID-19 vaccine, and will I be able to get a booster later?

People should get the 2024–2025 vaccine as soon as possible, as long as it’s been at least eight weeks after receiving the most recent dose of any COVID-19 vaccine. People who have recently recovered from a COVID-19 infection can wait 90 days before getting the updated vaccine.

Respiratory virus season traditionally is considered to begin in October, and viral infections can start rising as soon as then. It may take about two weeks for the updated vaccine to provide maximum protection after someone receives it.

As of now, booster shots are not recommended for any age group in the general population. See below for information on additional doses for moderately or severely immunocompromised people.

Q: Is the 2024–2025 COVID-19 vaccine more effective than the previous version?

The 2024–2025 vaccines are designed based on the Omicron subvariants JN.1 (Pfizer and Moderna) and KP.2 (Novavax). The JN.1 and KP.2 strains are closely related, and each has already spun off into multiple new strains that are also closely related. As a result, the updated vaccines should provide more protection against severe illness from currently circulating virus strains than the 2023-2024 COVID-19 vaccines, which were based on an earlier Omicron subvariant (XBB.1.5).

Earlier in the pandemic, COVID-19 variants mutated into new variants that were dramatically different from previous ones, prompting scientists to give them entirely new family names (e.g., Alpha, Delta, Omicron). Since the Omicron variant first appeared and became predominant in the fall of 2021, it has remained fairly stable in that respect – still mutating frequently, but less dramatically over time.

After four years and counting, most people have built up some defense against COVID-19, either by infection, vaccination or both – much as we have with the flu. And just as the flu vaccine gets updated every year to keep up with the ever-evolving flu virus strains, the updated COVID-19 vaccine is designed to do the same.

Q: Does it matter if I’ve never been vaccinated against COVID-19, or if I’ve not completed a primary series or received any boosters?

For most people ages 6 months and older, a single dose of the 2024–2025 COVID-19 vaccine is recommended, regardless of previous vaccination history. The exceptions are people ages 12+ receiving the Novavax vaccine who have never been vaccinated and some children under age 5.

For more on staying up to date with your COVID-19 vaccination, including details on the number and timing of doses by age, vaccination status and vaccine brand, click here.

Q: What are the recommendations for immunocompromised people?

People ages 6 months and older who are moderately or severely immunocompromised may receive one or more additional doses of a 2024–2025 COVID-19 vaccine. The recommended number and timing of additional doses depends on one’s COVID-19 vaccination history and the vaccine brand.

Immunocompromised people or those at higher risk, such as older adults, should discuss additional doses with their health care provider.

Q: Can I get the 2024-2025 COVID-19 vaccine at the same time as the flu and RSV vaccines?

Yes, it is safe and effective for eligible people to receive any combination of COVID-19, flu and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccines at the same time. It is also safe and effective for eligible infants and toddlers to receive nirsevimab—monoclonal antibody treatment to protect against RSV—at the same time they receive COVID-19 and flu vaccines.

Note: People who received the RSV vaccine last year do not need to get it again. It is not an annual vaccine.

Q: Will I have to pay for the 2024–2025 COVID-19 vaccine?

Health care providers and pharmacies are purchasing the 2024–2025 COVID-19 vaccines on the commercial market directly from the manufacturers, as they do for other vaccines, and providing them at no cost to the public under most insurance plans (including Medicare Part B, Medicare Advantage plans and Oregon Health Plan). You may need to use an in-network pharmacy or health care facility. Check with your insurance provider if you have questions.

The CDC’s Bridge Access Program, which provided COVID-19 vaccines at no cost to under- and uninsured adults, has ended. Uninsured adults may be able to find 2024-2025 COVID-19 vaccines available through their state or local health department immunization programs.

Eligible uninsured adults and children in Oregon can receive vaccines at no cost through OHA’s Vaccine Access Program (VAP). Uninsured children can also receive the 2024–2025 COVID-19 vaccine at no cost under the existing federal Vaccines for Children (VFC) program. Search for VFC and VAP providers here.

Community health centers offer low- or no-cost vaccines to enrolled patients. Search for a health center near you here.

Learn more about where to get vaccines in Oregon at OHA’s immunization webpage.