Moving forward, residents can find a dose of vaccine at their local health department.
To schedule a vaccine appointment at a pharmacy or other location, visit vaccinate.virginia.gov, or
call 877-VAX-IN-VA (TTY users call 7-1-1) or our local COVID-19 hotline at 540-613-6597.
Assistance is available in English, Spanish, and more than 100 other languages.
Moving forward, residents can find a dose of vaccine at their local health department.
To schedule a vaccine appointment at a pharmacy or other location, visit vaccinate.virginia.gov, or
call 877-VAX-IN-VA (TTY users call 7-1-1) or our local COVID-19 hotline at 540-613-6597.
Assistance is available in English, Spanish, and more than 100 other languages.
To view upcoming COVID-19 mobile vaccine clinic opportunities, click here and enter your zip code or see below for opportunities:
Thursday, May 26th from 2-4pm - Paradise Cathedral (1301 Melrose Avenue Northwest, Roanoke, VA 24017) - Pfizer 5 y/o+, Moderna, J&J
Who can get a booster vaccine?
VDH recommends individuals who are 12 and older receive booster doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.
- For individuals aged 12 to 17 years old, a Pfizer booster dose is recommended 5 months following completion of a Pfizer primary series
- For individuals ages 18 years and older, any COVID-19 vaccine booster dose is recommended 5 months following completion of a Pfizer or Moderna primary series
- For individuals ages 18 years and older, any COVID-19 vaccine booster is recommended 2 months following completion of a primary J&J dose
Eligible individuals 18 years and older may choose which vaccine they receive as a booster dose.
For booster vaccines, CDC has stated that use of the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna (COVID-19 mRNA vaccines) are preferable to Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen COVID-19 vaccine.
Talk with your health care provider to see which booster is right for you.
Are children aged 5 years and up eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine?
Yes, the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine is authorized for children and adolescents age 5 and up. Appointments will be available at the Community Vaccination Center, Health Department clinics, and several community vaccine clinics. Pediatric COVID-19 vaccine is also available at local pharmacies and some pediatric provider offices.
Who is eligible to receive a third dose vaccine?
- Those receiving active cancer treatment for tumors or cancers of the blood,
- Received an organ transplant and are taking medicine to suppress the immune system
- Received a stem cell transplant within the last 2 years or are taking medicine to suppress the immune system,
- Moderate or severe primary immunodeficiency (such as DiGeorge syndrome, Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome),
- Advanced or untreated HIV infection,
- Active treatment with high-dose corticosteroids or other drugs that may suppress your immune response
When can I receive a second dose of the vaccine?
In most cases, you will schedule your second dose appointment after receiving your first injection. Everyone should receive two doses of vaccine in order to have maximum protection against the virus.
- Pfizer Second Dose: 21 days after the first dose
- Moderna Second Dose: 28 days after the first dose
NOTE: there is no known loss of efficacy as long as the second dose is received within six weeks of receiving the first dose.
What are the potential side effects of the vaccine?
Because COVID-19 vaccines are so new, information on long term side-effects is still incomplete.
However, while we do not yet know all of the side effects of COVID-19 vaccination, some people in the trials have had arm pain at the injection site, tiredness, headache, or other body aches and some had a fever for a few days. These expected side effects are more common in younger people than older people and more common after the 2nd vaccine dose than after the first dose. This short-term discomfort is the effect of your body developing immunity, and is normal. This discomfort does not mean that the vaccine has given you COVID-19. Even if you experience discomfort after the first dose of the vaccine, it is very important that you still receive the second dose a few weeks later for the vaccine to be effective.
On the other hand, it is possible that a few COVID-19 vaccine recipients may already be getting infected with COVID-19 at the time they get the vaccine but are not showing symptoms of COVID-19 infection. If they later have symptoms of COVID-19 or test positive for it soon after vaccination, that does not mean they got COVID-19 from the vaccine.
How can I receive a vaccine if I am homebound?
Homebound residents in Alleghany, Botetourt, Covington, Roanoke City, Roanoke County, and Salem: If you or a loved one is unable to leave your house due to significant mobility challenges, call our hotline between 9am-4pm Monday to Friday to request an in-home delivery of vaccine. 540-613-6597
Is the vaccine available from Local Pharmacies, Doctor Offices, or Medical Providers?
To search for all COVID-19 vaccine availability, visit www.vaccines.gov. This website helps you find clinics, pharmacies, and other locations that offer COVID-19 vaccines in the United States.
More Frequently Asked Questions at VDH.gov
For more Frequently Asked Questions and answers, visit the VDH Vaccination FAQ.
- Community Weekly Update 4/24/22 • National Immunization Awareness Week
- Community Weekly Update 4/4/22 • National Public Health Week / Uptick of Hepatitis A in the community
- Community Weekly Update 3/14/22 • More reflections on the last two years / Preparing for the future
- Community Weekly Update 2/14/22 • Hepatitis A outbreak / What are causes and ways of preventing Hepatitis A?
- Community Weekly Update 1/24/22 • High number of cases locally / Testing options available / Testing center locations
- Media Release - School Guidance 1/5/22 • RCAHD issue guidance on minimizing risk of transmission in K-12 Schools
- Community Weekly Update 1/3/2022 • Reflecting on the past two years / What is isolation & quarantine? / Upcoming town hall
- Community Weekly Update 12/13/21 • What is the Omicron variant? / Is Omicron more dangerous / How to protect against variants
- Community Weekly Update 11/1/21 • Why vaccinate my child? / Is the child does same as the adult? / Help with needle fears
- Community Weekly Update 10/11/21 • What's a breakthrough case? / If breakthroughs occur why vaccinate? / What steps can I take?
- Community Weekly Update 9/18/21 • Delta surge continues / Booster recommendations / Increasing fully vaccinated
- Community Weekly Update 8/30/21 • Third doses for immunocompromised / Booster shoots / Back to school / Getting tested
- Community Weekly Update 8/9/21 • Delta variant surge in cases / CDC calls for more mask-wearing / Back to school vaccinations
- Community Weekly Update 7/19/21 • Delta variant / Vaccine effectiveness against Delta / If fully vaccinated should I wear a mask?
- Community Weekly Update 6/28/21 • Lessons learned about data / Reliance on partnerships / Resilience of the community
- Community Weekly Update 6/7/21 • National Month of Action / Progress against the pandemic / Companies encouraging vaccination
- Community Weekly Update 5/31/21 • Vaccinating 12-17 yr. olds / Why vaccinate Teens? / How these efforts reduce the spread
- Community Weekly Update 5/24/21 • At a crossroads / 225,000 doses administered / addressing vaccine reluctance
- Community Weekly Update 5/17/21 • Herd immunity / How to achieve herd immunity / When do we achieve herd immunity?
- Community Weekly Update 5/10/21 • Travel during COVID-19 / Guidelines for safe travel during the pandemic
- Community Weekly Update 5/3/21 • COVID-19 & Mental Health / Local cases drop below 200 / Self-care tips
- Community Weekly Update 4/26/21 • How vaccines work / Importance of getting second dose / How to find a vaccine
- Community Weekly Update 4/19/21 • More myths and truths about vaccines / Encouragement to spread facts, not myths
- Community Weekly Update 4/12/21 • Reluctance about vaccination / Some myths and truths about vaccines
- Community Weekly Update 4/5/21 • Phase 2 begins / What is fully vaccinated? / What can I do after being fully vaccinated?
- Community Weekly Update 3/29/21 • Increase in cases / What are variants and how do they work?
- Community Weekly Update 3/22/2021 • A little discomfort is better than COVID / Safe & Effective Vaccines
- Community Weekly Update 3/15/21 • Children Returning to Classrooms / Mitigating COVID-19 in a Classroom setting
- Community Weekly Update 3/8/21 • Partnerships / Decreasing COVID-19 Activity / Vaccine Clinics / Projections
- Community Weekly Update 3/1/21 • EUA issued for the J&J vaccine / Info about the J&J vaccine / Side effects of vaccines
- Community Weekly Update 2/22/21 • Wellbeing of students in school sports during COVID-19 / Keeping Transmission Down
- Community Weekly Update 2/15/2021 • Challenges in gathering reliable data / VDH vaccine pre-registration system created
- Community Weekly Update 2/08/2021 • Health equity with vaccination / Addressing health equity in vaccine distribution
- Community Weekly Update 2/01/2021 • Who is being vaccinated / How do I join the waitlist? / Actions the public can take
- Community Weekly Update 1/25/2021 • Phase 1b criteria expanded / 7 Clinics hosted vaccinating over 8,000 in the area