Navajo Nation Vaccine Schedule
The Navajo Department of Health and the CDC recommends Navajo citizens to get flu, COVID, and RSV vaccines this fall
to protect yourself, your family, and your community.
Everyone 6 months and older should get the new 2024 COVID vaccine. This includes people who have received a COVID-19
vaccine before and people who have had COVID-19. Getting the new COVID vaccine helps protect you from severe
disease, hospitalization, and death.
It is especially important to get your fall 2024 COVID-19 vaccine if you are ages 65 and older, are at high risk for
severe COVID-19, or have never received a COVID-19 vaccine. People 5 and older only need one dose of the 2024
vaccine to be up to date, even if they have never gotten a COVID vaccine before. Children 6 months-4 years need two
or three doses total, with at least one dose being the fall 2024 vaccine.
This vaccine is based on the current COVID variant. 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 vaccine also protects against long COVID.
The flu vaccine can prevent influenza (flu) and is separate from the COVID-19 vaccine. Flu is a contagious disease
that spreads around the country every year, usually between October and May. Infants and young children, people 65
years of age and older, pregnant women, and people with certain health conditions or weakened immune systems are at
higher risk of flu complications.
CDC recommends everyone 6 months of age and older get vaccinated every flu season. Children 6 months through 8 years
of age may need two doses during a single flu season. Everyone else needs only one dose every flu season.
There are many flu viruses, and they are always changing. Each year a new flu vaccine is made to protect three or
four viruses that are likely to cause disease in the upcoming flu season. The flu vaccine does not cause flu.
RSV vaccine or immunization is now recommended for:
- Elders aged 60-74 with underlying conditions like diabetes on insulin, heart disease, kidney disease, lung
disease, liver disease, severe obesity, or other immunocompromising condition. This is a one-time vaccine, so
elders that got it last season do not need it again.
- Everyone 75 and older. This is a one-time vaccine, so elders that got it last season do not need it again.
- All pregnant women during weeks 32-36 of each pregnancy
- Infants under 6 months whose mothers did not get the RSV vaccine during pregnancy
- All children aged 6-19 months, even if they or their mothers got the immunization or vaccine last season.
Hospitalization for RSV is common among Navajo infants and elders. Getting the vaccine for adults or the immunization
for infants offers strong protection against infection and hospitalization.
People with minor illnesses, such as a cold, may be vaccinated. People who are moderately or severely ill should wait
until they recover before getting the influenzaa vaccine. People who have had COVID can wait up to 3 months to get
the COVID vaccine. All three vaccines may be administered at the same time if preferred.
Talk to your health care provider for more information.