Get your booster

Boosters are free and key to keeping San Francisco safe.

Go to your doctor or nearby pharmacy or vaccine site. Many sites take drop-ins.

Who

First booster

You should get a booster if you:

• Are 5 and older
• Finished your first series of Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, or got the Johnson & Johnson vaccine

If you’re 5 to 17 years old, you can only have Pfizer for your booster.

Second booster

2nd boosters are open to you if you are:

• 50 and older
• 12 and older and immunocompromised
• Someone who got Johnson & Johnson for both your first 2 doses
• 18 to 49 years old, got 1 dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, and your 1st booster was Pfizer or Moderna

You should get your 2nd booster as soon as possible if you are:

• 50 and older
• 12 and older and immunocompromised

When

Pfizer or Moderna

For Pfizer or Moderna:

• 1st booster, as soon as 5 months have passed from your first vaccine series
• 2nd booster, as soon as 4 months have passed from your 1st booster

Johnson & Johnson

For Johnson & Johnson, get a booster as soon as 2 months have passed from your first dose.
You can get a 3rd dose with an mRNA vaccine (Pfizer or Moderna) 4 months after your booster.

Immunocompromised people

If your immune system is compromised, your vaccine schedule is different. 

Where

Your doctor’s or healthcare group

Set up a time with your doctor or healthcare group where you're a patient.

The majority of people in San Francisco get their boosters this way. Large health systems and some clinics have vaccine sites that can take in more people.

A nearby pharmacy

You can also go to a nearby pharmacy. Many take drop ins.

You may be asked to give proof of insurance. But pharmacies will still give you a vaccine or booster if you don’t have insurance.

One of our affiliated sites

If you don’t have insurance, are a member of the San Francisco Health Network, or face barriers accessing vaccines, go to one of our affiliated vaccine sites. Many take drop ins.

3rd dose for people who got Johnson & Johnson

For those who got a Johnson & Johnson vaccine and booster and who are ready for their 3rd dose:

1. First talk with your doctor to make sure a 3rd dose with an mRNA vaccine is right for you
2. Then set up an appointment at one of the San Francisco Department of Public Health (SFDPH) affiliated sites giving boosters

Mix or match

If you got the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, for most situations you should get Pfizer or Moderna for your booster and third dose.

If you got the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine, you can mix your booster so you get a different brand of mRNA vaccine. Or you can match it and keep the brand the same.

Ask your doctor or the healthcare professional giving you your booster which is best for you.