All individuals 5 years of age and older that reside in the United States are eligible to receive the vaccine. New Yorkers should continue to wear a mask where appropriate and follow all other health guidelines.

Richmond University Medical Center provides the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for individuals 5 years of age and older. Minors must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.  To make an appointment for anyone who is 5 years of age or older, download the RUMC CARES App by clicking here. When scheduling appointments for children ages 5 to 11, please click the tab labeled “ages 5 to 11.”

Once you have an appointment, you will need to:

1. Print and complete the following document and bring it with you to your scheduled appointment. 
   • Consent Form for ages 12+
   • Consent Form for ages 5-11
2. If you are receiving your first dose, you will need to complete the online New York State attestation link listed below. Print the confirmation page and bring it with you on the day of your appointment.

To cancel or reschedule an appointment, please use the RUMC CARES mobile app.

Yes. Re-infection with COVID-19 is possible. Experts recommend that you wait until you are fully recovered from your infection and are no longer in isolation before you receive a COVID-19 vaccine. 

COVID-19 vaccines are safe, effective, and free.

All children 5 years and older are eligible to get their free COVID-19 vaccine as soon as possible so they are fully vaccinated and protected against the virus. 

Your child will need a second shot of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine 3 weeks after their first shot.

Both the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines require two doses to offer the full benefit. The first dose helps the immune system create a response against the virus that causes COVID-19. The second dose further boosts the immune response to ensure long-term protection. 

The second dose of the Pfizer vaccine is offered 21 days later, while Moderna is offered 28 days later.

A booster or additional dose of the COVID-19 vaccine will help all eligible New Yorkers maximize their protection, prolong the vaccine’s durability, and continue to safeguard our communities against the virus. Booster and additional doses of the COVID-19 vaccine are free and widely available statewide.

• For New Yorkers 18 and older, Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna (COVID-19 mRNA vaccines) are preferred. You may get Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen COVID-19 vaccine in some situations. 
• Booster-eligible New Yorkers 12 – 17-years-old can only receive the Pfizer-BioNTech booster.
• Additional dose-eligible children 5 – 11-years-old can only receive an additional dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.

Booster Update for New Yorkers:

• New Yorkers 12 years and older who received their Pfizer-BioNTech initial vaccine series at least five months ago are eligible for the Pfizer-BioNTech booster.
• New Yorkers 18 years and older who received the Moderna initial vaccine series at least five months ago or the Janssen/Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine at least two months ago are eligible for a booster dose.
• The mRNA vaccines are preferentially recommended in most situations over the Janssen COVID-19 vaccine.

All COVID-19 vaccines authorized or approved for emergency use in the United States have proven extremely effective at preventing serious illness, hospitalization, and death from COVID-19. The effectiveness of the FDA-approved and -authorized vaccines remains strong even against newer strains. Those who are unvaccinated have the greatest risk of becoming seriously ill, which is why the New York State Department of Health urges all eligible New Yorkers to get vaccinated as soon as they are able.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has authorized all three vaccines for emergency use and found them to be safe and effective in preventing severe COVID-19.

You’ll be monitored for 15-30 minutes after getting a COVID-19 vaccine to see if you have an immediate reaction. Most side effects happen within the first three days after vaccination and typically last only one to two days.

Side effects after the second shot may be more intense than the ones experienced after the first shot. These side effects are normal signs that the body is building protection and should go away within a few days.

You will be asked to wait at least 15 to 30 minutes after receiving the shot so you can be monitored for an allergic reaction, although it is a rare occurrence. A person with a history of severe allergies may be asked to stay for up to 30 minutes.

• At your first vaccination appointment, you should receive a CDC COVID-19 Vaccination card that tells you what COVID-19 vaccine you received, the date you received it, and where you received it.
• Keep your CDC COVID-19 Vaccination card for future use. Consider taking a picture of your card after your vaccination appointment as a backup copy. 
• Bring your card to your appointment whenever you get an additional dose or booster so that your provider can fill in information about your shot.

Scientists are continuing to monitor how long COVID-19 vaccine protection lasts. Recent studies show that protection against the virus may decrease over time. This reduction in protection has led CDC to recommend that everyone ages 12 years and older get a booster shot after completing their primary vaccination series. People who received the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine for their primary series should get a booster shot at least 5 months after completing the primary series. People who received Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen COVID-19 vaccine should get a booster shot at least 2 months after getting their first shot. At this time, CDC recommends getting only one COVID-19 booster shot. CDC continues to review evidence and will update guidance as more information is available.

Getting a COVID-19 vaccine can help protect you from severe illness from COVID-19. People who are pregnant or recently pregnant are more likely to get severely ill from COVID-19 compared with people who are not pregnant. COVID-19 vaccination is recommended for people who are pregnant, breastfeeding, trying to get pregnant now, or might become pregnant in the future. People who are pregnant should receive a COVID-19 vaccine booster shot when it’s time to get one. Evidence about the safety and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy has been growing. This data suggests that the benefits of receiving a COVID-19 vaccine outweigh any known or potential risks of vaccination during pregnancy. There is currently no evidence that any vaccines, including COVID-19 vaccines, cause fertility problems in women or men. 

More clinical trials on the safety of COVID-19 vaccines and how well they work in people who are pregnant are underway or planned. Vaccine manufacturers are also collecting and reviewing data from people in the completed clinical trials who received a vaccine and became pregnant during the trial.