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COVID-19 vaccines and testing

Safe care is our mission. The Milwaukee VA offers the COVID-19 vaccine to enrolled Veterans only at no cost.

COVID-19 Vaccine Information 

The health and safety or our Veterans and staff remain a top priority for VA. Vaccine remains the best way to protect everyone from serious illness. Protect yourself, your family, and your community by scheduling your appointment today. COVID-19 vaccine has been proven to be effective in diminishing the spread of the virus within our communities.

The Milwaukee VA offers updated (bivalent) COVID-19 booster shots. All shots are by appointment. To schedule an appointment, contact the Milwaukee VA Medical Center, Green Bay VA Health Care Center, Appleton VA, Cleveland VA, Union Grove VA, or Oconomowoc VA community-based outpatient clinics:

If you choose to receive a shot in the community, please let your VA care team know so our records are up to date.

Veterans are asked to bring their valid VA ID card with them and the CDC Vaccination Card.

Staying Up to Date with COVID-19 Vaccines

Staying Up to Date with COVID-19 Vaccines | COVID-19 | CDC

On June 27, 2024, the CDC Director adopted the ACIP’s recommendations for use of 2024–2025 COVID-19 vaccines in people ages 6 months and older as approved or authorized by FDA. The 2024–2025 vaccines are expected to be available in fall 2024. This page will be updated at that time to align with the new recommendations. Learn more: www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2024/s-t0627-vaccine-recommendations.html

  • CDC recommends the 2023–2024 updated COVID-19 vaccines—Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, or Novavax—to protect against serious illness from COVID-19.
  • Everyone aged 5 years and older ‡ should get 1 dose of an updated COVID-19 vaccine to protect against serious illness from COVID-19.
  • Children aged 6 months–4 years may need multiple doses of COVID-19 vaccines to be up to date, including at least 1 dose of updated COVID-19 vaccine.
  • People who are moderately or severely immunocompromised may get additional doses of updated COVID-19 vaccine.
  • People aged 65 years and older who received 1 dose of any updated 2023-2024 COVID-19 vaccine (Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna or Novavax) should receive 1 additional dose of an updated COVID-19 vaccine at least 4 months after the previous updated dose.
  • COVID-19 vaccine recommendations will be updated as needed.
  • People who are up to date have lower risk of severe illness, hospitalization and death from COVID-19 than people who are unvaccinated or who have not completed the doses recommended for them by CDC.

Vaccines you may need

Recommendations for Everyone Aged 5 Years and Older

Everyone aged 5 years and older ‡ should get 1 dose of an updated COVID-19 vaccine to protect against serious illness from COVID-19. None of the updated 2023-2024 COVID-19 vaccines is preferred over another.

Children aged 5 years – 11 years who are not vaccinated or have gotten previous COVID-19 vaccine(s)

Children aged 5 years – 11 years who are unvaccinated or have previously gotten a COVID-19 vaccine before September 12, 2023, should get 1 updated Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine.

People aged 12 years and older who are not vaccinated

People aged 12 years and older who are unvaccinated should get either:

1 Dose

  • Pfizer BioNTech (updated vaccine)

1 Dose

  • Moderna (updated vaccine)

2 Doses

  • 1st Dose of Novavax (updated vaccine)
  • 2nd Dose of Novavax (updated vaccine) 3-8 weeks after 1st dose

More details: Up to Date

People aged 12 years and older who got previous COVID-19 vaccine(s)

People aged 12 years and older who got Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna COVID-19 vaccines before September 12, 2023, or Novavax COVID-19 vaccine before October 3, 2023, should get 1 updated Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, or Novavax COVID-19 vaccine.

‡12 years and older: People aged 12 years and older who have not previously gotten any COVID-19 vaccine doses and choose to get Novavax should get 2 doses of updated Novavax vaccine to be up to date.

People Aged 65 years and Older

People aged 65 years and older who have not previously received any COVID-19 vaccine doses and choose to get Novavax should get 2 doses of updated Novavax vaccine, followed by 1 additional dose of any updated 2023–2024 COVID-19 vaccine to be up to date.

Recommendations for Children Aged 6 Months – 4 Years

Children Who Are Not Vaccinated

Children aged 6 months–4 years should get two or three doses of updated COVID-19 vaccine depending on which vaccine they receive.

Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine:

1st Dose

  • Pfizer-BioNTech (updated vaccine)

2nd Dose

  • Pfizer-BioNTech (updated vaccine)
  • 3–8 weeks after 1st dose

3rd Dose

  • Pfizer-BioNTech (updated vaccine)
  • At least 8 weeks after 2nd dose

Note: Children this age may receive Moderna vaccines after the first or second Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine in some situations.

More Details: Up to Date and Pfizer-BioNTech Vaccine Overview

Moderna vaccine:

1st Dose

  • Moderna (updated vaccine)

2nd Dose

  • Moderna (updated vaccine)
  • 4–8 weeks after 1st dose

Note: Children this age may receive Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines after the first Moderna vaccine in some situations.

More details: Up to Date and Moderna Vaccine Overview

Children Who Got Previous COVID-19 Vaccine(s)

Children aged 6 months–4 years who got COVID-19 vaccines before September 12, 2023, should get one or two doses of updated COVID-19 vaccine depending on which vaccine and the number of doses they’ve previously received.

If you received one previous dose of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine:

2nd Dose

  • Pfizer-BioNTech (updated vaccine)
  • 3–8 weeks after 1st dose

3rd Dose

  • Pfizer-BioNTech (updated vaccine)
  • At least 8 weeks after 2nd dose

If you received two or more previous doses of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine:

1 Dose

  • Pfizer-BioNTech (updated vaccine) At least 8 weeks after last dose

Note: Children this age may receive Moderna vaccines after the first or second Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine in some situations.

More details: Up to Date and Pfizer-BioNTech Vaccine Overview

If you received one previous dose of Moderna vaccine:

1 Dose

  • Moderna (updated vaccine)
  • 4–8 weeks after 1st dose

If you received two or more previous doses of the Moderna vaccine:

1 Dose

  • Moderna (updated vaccine)
  • At least 8 weeks after 1st dose

Note: Children this age may receive Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines after the first Moderna vaccine in some situations.

More details: Up to Date and Moderna Vaccine Overview

Recommendation for People Who May Get Additional Updated COVID-19 Vaccines

People ages 65 years and older should receive 1 additional dose of any updated (2023–2024 formula) COVID-19 vaccine (i.e., Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, or Novavax) at least 4 months following the previous dose of updated (2023–2024 Formula) COVID-19 vaccine.

People aged 65 years and older who have not previously received any COVID-19 vaccine doses and choose to get Novavax should get 2 doses of updated Novavax vaccine, followed by 1 additional dose of any updated 2023–2024 COVID-19 vaccine to be up to date.

Tip‎

For information on additional doses for people who are moderately or severely immunocompromised, click or tap here.

When Are You Up to Date?

People aged 5 – 64 years

You are up to date when you get 1 age-appropriate updated COVID-19 vaccine.‡

Children aged 6 months – 4 years

You are up to date when you get all recommended doses, including at least 1 dose of updated COVID-19 vaccine.

People aged 65 years and older

You are up to date when you have received 2 updated 2023–2024 COVID-19 vaccine doses.

People aged 65 and older who have not previously received any COVID-19 vaccine doses and choose to get Novavax should get 2 doses of updated Novavax vaccine, followed by 1 additional dose of any updated 2023–2024 COVID-19 vaccine to be up to date.

People who got the Johnson & Johnson/Janssen COVID-19 vaccine

You are up to date when you get 1 updated COVID-19 vaccine.

How Well COVID-19 Vaccines Work

  • People who are up to date have lower risk of severe illness, hospitalization and death from COVID-19 than people who are unvaccinated or who have not completed the doses recommended for them by CDC.
  • Additional updated COVID-19 vaccine doses can help restore protection that has decreased since previous vaccination.
  • CDC will continue to provide updates as we learn more

About COVID-19 Vaccines

COVID-19 vaccines available in the United States are effective at protecting people from getting seriously ill, being hospitalized, and dying. As with other vaccine-preventable diseases, you are best protected from COVID-19 when you stay up to date with the recommended vaccinations.

COVID-19 vaccines currently recommended for use in the United States:

  • Updated Pfizer-BioNTech
  • Updated Moderna
  • Updated Novavax

As of October 3, 2023, the 2023-2024 updated Novavax vaccine was recommended by CDC for use in the United States.

As of September 12, 2023, the 2023–2024 updated Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines were recommended by CDC for use in the United States.

The 2023–2024 updated COVID-19 vaccines more closely targets the XBB lineage of the Omicron variant and could restore protection against severe COVID-19 that may have decreased over time. We anticipate the updated vaccines will be better at fighting currently circulating variants.

There is no preferential recommendation for the use of any one COVID-19 vaccine over another when more than one licensed or authorized, recommended, and age-appropriate vaccine is available.

Vaccine Considerations

Getting Vaccines If You Recently Had COVID-19

If you recently had COVID-19, you still need to stay up to date with your vaccines, but you may consider delaying your vaccine by 3 months.

Reinfection is less likely in the weeks to months after infection. However, certain factors could be reasons to get a vaccine sooner rather than later, such as:

COVID-19 Testing

Contact your primary care office for questions about COVID-19 testing.

Milwaukee VA does not have home testing kits available for distribution. Information about testing can be found on the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services website at www.covid.gov.

 

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