The minimum age for a COVID-19 vaccine is 6 months old. The CDC recommends the 2025–2026 COVID-19 vaccine for everyone ages 6 months and older, though the specific vaccine options available depend on age group.
Age Requirements by Vaccine
Three COVID-19 vaccines are currently available in the United States, and each covers a different age range:
- Moderna (Spikevax): Available for ages 6 months and older. This is the only option for children under 5.
- Pfizer-BioNTech: Available for ages 5 and older under emergency use authorization, with full FDA approval (as Comirnaty) for ages 12 and older.
- Novavax (Nuvaxovid): Approved for ages 12 and older. This is a protein-based vaccine rather than an mRNA vaccine, which some people prefer.
If your child is between 6 months and 4 years old, Moderna is the only available vaccine. Starting at age 5, Pfizer-BioNTech becomes an option as well. At 12, all three vaccines are on the table.
Children Get a Lower Dose
Younger children receive smaller doses tailored to their size and immune system. Children ages 6 months through 11 years get half the Moderna dose that adults receive. The Pfizer-BioNTech pediatric dose for ages 5 through 11 is one-third of the adult dose. Once a child turns 12, they receive the same dose as adults.
If your child has a birthday during a multi-dose series, the dosing switches to match their new age group for any remaining shots. A child who turns 5 mid-series, for example, would get the 5-to-11 dosage for all remaining doses.
How Many Doses Children Need
For most healthy people ages 6 months and older, the CDC recommends one dose of the updated 2025–2026 vaccine. Children under 5 who have never been vaccinated may need more than one dose to build adequate protection, since their immune systems are less experienced.
Children and adults with weakened immune systems follow a different schedule. Unvaccinated immunocompromised children may need a three-dose initial series plus an additional dose six months later. Those who completed an earlier series typically need two doses of the updated vaccine, spaced six months apart. The exact number of doses depends on age and how many shots someone has already received.
Safety in Young Children
The most common reactions in vaccinated babies and toddlers (6 months to 2 years) are irritability and crying, reported in roughly half of children. Kids ages 3 and older tend to have milder reactions overall, with injection site soreness being the most frequent complaint. Fever occurs in about 1 in 5 young children, and rash and vomiting are reported less often.
Serious side effects are rare. In early safety monitoring of children under 5, 98% of reported adverse events were classified as nonserious. No cases of myocarditis were found in this age group, a concern that had been flagged in older teens and young adults with earlier vaccine formulations.
Consent Rules for Minors
If you’re a teenager wondering whether you can get vaccinated on your own, the answer depends heavily on where you live. Most states (41 out of 50) require parental consent for anyone under 18 to receive a vaccine. Nebraska sets that threshold at 19.
There are exceptions. Five states allow minors to consent at a specific age without a parent’s involvement: Alabama at 14, Oregon at 15, Rhode Island and South Carolina at 16, and Washington, D.C., at 11 (though individual providers may still require a parent to be present). Five more states, including Arkansas, Idaho, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Washington, use what’s called the “mature minor doctrine,” which lets a healthcare provider decide on a case-by-case basis whether a teenager is mature enough to consent independently.
San Francisco and Philadelphia have local policies allowing minors ages 12 and older to self-consent for COVID-19 vaccination. Emancipated minors, married minors, and those living independently from their parents can generally consent for themselves regardless of state rules.