Covid-19 Vaccine

COVID-19 vaccines available in the United States are effective at protecting people from getting seriously ill, being hospitalized, and even dying. As with vaccines for other diseases, people who are up to date are protected best. CDC recommends that everyone ages 6 months of age and older get their primary series of COVID-19 vaccine, and everyone ages 12 years and older also receive a booster.

Health Officer

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    Andrea Alvare

    Director/Health Officer
    Email
    Phone: (732) 827-2085
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Approved or Authorized Vaccines

Three COVID-19 vaccines are authorized or approved for use in the United States to prevent COVID-19. Pfizer-BioNTech/Bivalent and Moderna/Bivalent are COVID-19 mRNA vaccines and are preferred. You may get Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen COVID-19 vaccine in some situations. There is also Novavx and is a 2 dose primary series. 

Janssen (Johnson & Johnson) 

“The authorization of this vaccine expands the availability of vaccines, the best medical prevention method for COVID-19, to help us in the fight against this pandemic, which has claimed over half a million lives in the United States,” said Acting FDA Commissioner Janet Woodcock, M.D. “The FDA, through our open and transparent scientific review process, has now authorized three COVID-19 vaccines with the urgency called for during this pandemic, using the agency’s rigorous standards for safety, effectiveness and manufacturing quality needed to support emergency use authorization.”

The FDA has determined that the Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine has met the statutory criteria for issuance of an EUA. The totality of the available data provides clear evidence that the Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine may be effective in preventing COVID-19. The data also show that the vaccine’s known and potential benefits outweigh its known and potential risks, supporting the company’s request for the vaccine’s use in people 18 years of age and older. In making this determination, the FDA can assure the public and medical community that it has conducted a thorough evaluation of the available safety, effectiveness and manufacturing quality information.

The Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine is manufactured using a specific type of virus called adenovirus type 26 (Ad26). The vaccine uses Ad26 to deliver a piece of the DNA, or genetic material, that is used to make the distinctive “spike” protein of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. While adenoviruses are a group of viruses that are relatively common, Ad26, which can cause cold symptoms and pink eye, has been modified for the vaccine so that it cannot replicate in the human body to cause illness. After a person receives this vaccine, the body can temporarily make the spike protein, which does not cause disease, but triggers the immune system to learn to react defensively, producing an immune response against SARS-CoV-2.

“After a thorough analysis of the data, the FDA’s scientists and physicians have determined that the vaccine meets the FDA’s expectations for safety and effectiveness appropriate for the authorization of a vaccine for emergency use,” said Peter Marks, M.D., Ph.D., director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research. “With today’s authorization, we are adding another vaccine in our medical toolbox to fight this virus. At the same time, the American people can be assured of the FDA’s unwavering commitment to public health through our comprehensive and rigorous evaluation of the data submitted for vaccines to prevent COVID-19.”

Moderna COVID-19 Vaccines

On January 31, 2022, the FDA announced the second approval of a COVID-19 vaccine. The vaccine has been known as the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine, and will now be marketed as Spikevax, for the prevention of COVID-19 in individuals 18 years of age and older. 

Spikevax is a monovalent COVID-19 vaccine that is approved for use as a two-dose primary series for the prevention of COVID-19 in individuals 18 years of age and older. It is also authorized for emergency use to provide: 

  • A two-dose primary series to individuals 12 years through 17 years of age. 
  • A third primary series dose to individuals 12 years of age and older with certain kinds of immunocompromise. 

Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine is a monovalent COVID-19 vaccine that is authorized for emergency use to prevent COVID-19 as a: 

  • Two-dose primary series for individuals 6 months of age and older. 
  • Third primary series dose for individuals 6 months of age and older who have been determined to have certain kinds of immunocompromise. 

Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine, Bivalent is authorized for use in individuals 18 years of age and older as a single booster dose administered at least 2 months after either: 

  • Completion of primary vaccination with any authorized or approved monovalent COVID-19 vaccine, or 
  • Receipt of the most recent booster dose with any authorized or approved monovalent COVID-19 vaccine. 


















In consultation with FDA, CDC issues emergency use instructions to provide information about the primary, additional, and booster doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccines in certain individuals 


REFF: FDA Website

Comirnaty and Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccines


On August 23, 2021, FDA announced the first approval of a COVID-19 vaccine. The vaccine has been known as the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine, and the approved vaccine is marketed as Comirnaty, for the prevention of COVID-19 in individuals 12 years of age and older. 

Comirnaty is a monovalent COVID-19 vaccine that is approved for use as a two-dose primary series for the prevention of COVID-19 in individuals 12 years of age and older. It is also authorized for emergency use to provide a third primary series dose to individuals 12 years of age and older with certain kinds of immunocompromise. 

Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine is a monovalent COVID-19 vaccine that is authorized for emergency use to prevent COVID-19 as a: 

  • Three-dose primary series for individuals 6 months through 4 years of age. 
  • Two-dose primary series for individuals 5 years of age and older. 
  • Third primary series dose for individuals 5 years of age and older who have been determined to have certain kinds of immunocompromise. 
  • Single booster dose for individuals 5 through 11 years of age at least five months after completing a primary series of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine. 

Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine, Bivalent is authorized for use to prevent COVID-19 in individuals 12 years of age and older as a single booster dose administered at least 2 months after either: 

  • Completion of primary vaccination with any authorized or approved monovalent COVID-19 vaccine, or 
  • Receipt of the most recent booster dose with any authorized or approved monovalent COVID-19 vaccine. 

In consultation with FDA, CDC updates the emergency use instructions to provide information about the primary, additional, and booster doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines in certain individuals.

Novavax COVID-19 Vaccine, Adjuvanted

Novavax COVID-19 Vaccine, Adjuvanted is available under EUA to prevent COVID-19 in individuals 12 years of age and older.

The vaccine is authorized for emergency use as a two-dose primary series. The two doses are given three weeks apart.

Novavax COVID-19 Vaccine, Adjuvanted contains the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein and Matrix-M adjuvant. Adjuvants are incorporated into some vaccines to enhance the immune response of the vaccinated individual. The spike protein in this vaccine is produced in insect cells; the Matrix M-adjuvant contains saponin extracts from the bark of the Soapbark tree that is native to Chile.


FEFF: FDA Website