Navajo Nation Vaccine Guidance & Schedule
The Navajo Department of Health and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends Navajo citizens to get your vaccines up to date for the fall season! This includes influenza (flu), COVID-19, and Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) vaccines to protect yourself, your family, and your community. We especially want to preserve the future by protecting our infants, and preserve our culture by protecting our elders.
When we are vaccinated, it is less likely that we will get sick or make others sick. Flu, COVID-19, and RSV diseases are very contagious and spread most often between October and May. These illnesses may cause people to feel sick for several days, causing them to miss several days of work or school, or not feel well enough to do their usual daily activities. But, if you do get sick, vaccines can prevent illness or reduce the severity of the illness. The vaccines cannot cause the disease, but sometimes, they may make someone feel a little under the weather with mild side effects for a day or two, like a sore arm, tiredness, or headache. All three vaccines, flu, COVID-19, and RSV, are separate, but they can be given on the same day.
COVID-19 Vaccine:
The COVID-19 vaccination is recommended yearly for children ages 6 months to 18 years in collaboration with your healthcare provider. The COVID-19 vaccine is recommended once each year for healthy adults, but elders and people with weakened immune systems are recommended to receive additional doses. People can be vaccinated even if they received a COVID-19 vaccine before or had a COVID-19 infection. Getting yearly COVID-19 vaccines helps protect you from severe disease, hospitalization, and death.
Why do I need a dose each year?
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The COVID-19 vaccine is made to match the COVID variants circulating in the country this year. Vaccine protection decreases over time, so it is important to stay up to date with your COVID-19 vaccine. Being up to date on the COVID-19 vaccine also protects against Long COVID.