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Guidance for COVID-19 vaccine providers

Review Massachusetts guidance for administration of COVID-19 vaccine.
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2025-2026 COVID-19 vaccine recommendations

Everyone 6-months and older may receive an updated 2025–2026 COVID-19 vaccine to protect against the potentially serious outcomes of COVID-19 illness. COVID-19 vaccines are safe and have been proven to reduce medical visits and severe outcomes caused by COVID-19.   

Getting an updated COVID-19 vaccine is especially important for people who are at higher risk of infection or severe illness.  This includes people younger than 2 years and older than 65 years of age, people with chronic medical conditions, healthcare workers and pregnant people. 

There are currently four COVID-19 vaccines licensed for use in the U.S. for 2025-2026:  

  • Moderna: SPIKEVAX FDA approved for ages 6 months and older (mRNA vaccine)
  • Moderna: mNEXSPIKE FDA approved for ages 12 years and older (mRNA vaccine)
  • Pfizer: COMIRNATY FDA approved for ages 5 years and older (mRNA vaccine)
  • Novavax:  Nuvaxoid FDA approved for ages 12 years and older (Protein subunit)

DPH has issued updated guidance for the 2025/2026 respiratory illness season for COVID-19 vaccine. 

The safety of COVID-19 vaccines has been closely monitored under the most extensive vaccine monitoring program in U.S. history.  

  • For example, safety surveillance identified and characterized the elevated risk of myocarditis and pericarditis after mRNA COVID-19 vaccination. Cases of myocarditis and pericarditis are rarely observed following receipt of a COVID-19 vaccine:
    • Cases have occurred most frequently in adolescent and young adult males within 7 days after receiving a second dose of an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine. However, studies demonstrate that the risk of myocarditis is actually substantially higher immediately after being infected with COVID-19 than it is in the weeks following COVID-19 vaccination. 
    • When myocarditis has been observed after vaccination, the condition typically mild and resolves completely within weeks.
  • The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) was commissioned by the Health Resources and Services Administration to conduct an evidence review of the relationship between COVID-19 vaccines and specific adverse events:
    • NASEM reviewed nearly 600 studies on safety of COVID-19 vaccines and concluded that the evidence supported causal association between mRNA COVID-19 vaccines and myocarditis.
    • NASEM reported that there was no evidence of a causal relationship between mRNA COVID-19 vaccines and thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome, infertility, Guillain-Barré syndrome, Bell’s palsy, and myocardial infarction.
    • After reviewing available data, the June 2024 Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) and CDC acknowledged the very low risk of myocarditis and pericarditis associated with COVID-19 vaccination, but determined that the benefits of COVID-19 vaccination outweigh these low risks associated with vaccination in all populations recommended for vaccination.
  • No other risks associated with the vaccines currently licensed in the U.S. have been confirmed except those seen with other vaccines (e.g., local and systemic reactions, allergic reactions). 

Reporting of vaccine adverse events

Adverse events that occur in a recipient following COVID-19 vaccination should be reported to VAERS. Vaccination providers are required by FDA and the provider agreement for the CDC COVID-19 Vaccination Program to report the following that occur after any COVID-19 vaccination:  

  • Vaccine administration errors whether or not associated with an adverse event 
  • Serious adverse events, irrespective of attribution to vaccination 
  • Cases of Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome (MIS) in adults and children 
  • Cases of myocarditis 
  • Cases of pericarditis 
  • Cases of COVID-19 that result in hospitalization or death  

Reporting is encouraged for any other clinically significant adverse event, even if it is uncertain whether the vaccine caused the event. Information on how to submit a report to VAERS is available at vaers.hhs.gov or by calling 1-800-822-7967.  

Resources for healthcare professionals

Standing orders 

Vaccination clinics  

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