--- title: What to Do If You Miss Your Second COVID-19 Vaccine Dose description: If you miss your second COVID-19 vaccine dose appointment, what happens? Here's how to make sure you're protected against COVID-19. canonical: https://time.com/5952716/missed-second-vaccine-appointment/ author: Jamie Ducharme article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2021-04-07T17:13:27.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-14T09:11:05.194Z article:section: Health og:title: I Missed My Second COVID-19 Vaccine Appointment. What Happens Now? og:description: Here's how to make sure you're fully protected og:url: https://time.com/5952716/missed-second-vaccine-appointment/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb54f1172a9b4908a/698a1885db29870f08266742/vaccine-second-appointment.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: vaccine second appointment og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: I Missed My Second COVID-19 Vaccine Appointment. What Happens Now? twitter:description: Here's how to make sure you're fully protected twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb54f1172a9b4908a/698a1885db29870f08266742/vaccine-second-appointment.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # I Missed My Second COVID-19 Vaccine Appointment. What Happens Now? > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=06d05b71-e981-459a-9122-452ecfd011ea&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Tracking the Vaccine: From Freezer to Front Line [Watch (HLS stream): Tracking the Vaccine: From Freezer to Front Line](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/0dwzz5K2.m3u8) (4:28)  _Published 2021-01-20. TIME followed the vaccination process from a Walgreens freezer to a long-term care facility to see what the roll out can look like._  by [Jamie Ducharme](https://time.com/author/jamie-ducharme/)  ## Jamie Ducharme Ducharme is a contributor to TIME. Apr 7, 2021 5:13 PM UTC TIME followed the vaccination process from a Walgreens freezer to a long-term care facility to see what the roll out can look like.  by [Jamie Ducharme](https://time.com/author/jamie-ducharme/)  ## Jamie Ducharme Ducharme is a contributor to TIME. Apr 7, 2021 5:13 PM UTC _Welcome to COVID Questions, TIME’s advice column. We’re trying to make living through the pandemic a little easier, with expert-backed answers to your toughest coronavirus-related dilemmas. While we can’t and don’t offer medical advice—those questions should go to your doctor—we hope this column will help you sort through this stressful and confusing time. Got a question? Write to us at covidquestions@time.com._ Today, W.S. in Florida asks: --- > “” --- The second dose of Pfizer-BioNTech’s vaccine should ideally be given three weeks after the first. (Moderna’s second dose is meant to be given four weeks after the first, while the Johnson & Johnson/Janssen shot is delivered in a single dose.) But, well, sometimes life gets in the way. So what happens if you don’t make it to that second appointment? Schedule another one as soon as you can, says Dr. Adam Ratner, a pediatric infectious disease doctor at NYU Langone Health and a vaccine researcher. While a three- or four-week gap between shots is ideal, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) [says](https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/covid-19/info-by-product/pfizer/downloads/standing-orders.pdf) you can get your second shot within 42 days of the first one and still mount a full immune response. “Beyond that, we start to operate in an area where there’s simply less data,” Ratner says. That doesn’t mean your second shot will be ineffective if it’s given more than six weeks after the first. It only means that studies have not specifically measured how much protection the two-dose vaccines offer when the shots are given more than 42 days apart. Still, the CDC says you don’t have to start over if you can’t get a second vaccine within 42 days. Countries including the U.K. are even purposely delaying second shots so they can get first doses out to more people, and some experts in the U.S. [advocate for the same policy](https://www.statnews.com/2021/04/02/democrats-and-republicans-alike-pressure-biden-administration-to-pursue-single-dose-vaccine-strategy/). Ratner says if he were in your shoes, he wouldn’t worry too much. “I would say get the second dose now and consider yourself fully vaccinated,” he says. Just make sure you get a second dose of the same vaccine, since the CDC does not recommend mixing and matching with different shots. It may be tempting to just stick with the one dose you’ve got—after all, one [recent study](https://time.com/5950829/vaccines-covid-19-infection-real-world-study/) showed that a single dose of the vaccine was about 80% effective at preventing COVID-19 infections, compared to 90% protection after two doses. But “it is somewhat of a tenuous 80%,” National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Dr. Anthony Fauci said at a recent press briefing. “When you leave it at one dose, the question is, ‘How long does it last?’” To get the vaccine’s full benefits, and to make sure they last [as long as possible](https://time.com/5951723/pfizer-biontech-long-term-vaccine-study/), you’ll need a second shot. ## Transcript [00:08] But I am very excited [00:11] that you finally come up with a vaccine. [00:15] I feel the weight of it that this is going to do some good for us. [00:19] And you know that I'm ready for it to start happening. [00:24] You know, waiting to be in line to get my shot to. [00:34] Just all the way to the Yankees or. [00:37] Don't sign for Colbert. So they don't say. [00:40] I actually. [00:46] The biggest challenge [00:47] has been temperature requirements, because that has to be kept [00:52] at ultracold temperature of negative seven degrees Celsius. [00:57] Or if we are [00:57] transporting in a refrigeration, we have a lot more monitoring for that [01:01] because it's only good for so many hours if the temperature excursion happens. [01:07] And then there is a lot of responsibility in terms of liability. [01:10] This vaccine has been very popular, so we have security protocols. [01:14] We are putting SEALs when they're transporting. [01:18] We have cameras installed specifically for this [01:26] over and. [01:48] Yeah. [01:49] And be sorry. [01:52] All right. Keep your arm relaxed. [01:54] Oh, just the needle all done. [01:59] You're not even bleeding. [02:11] So my grandmother actually just passed away, [02:13] I mean, less than two months ago from it. [02:15] So to be out here protecting other people's [02:17] grandparents is really touching me personally. [02:18] Like, I really appreciate the opportunity and just so happy to be a part of it. [02:23] The staff members here, we have about 240 that we're doing. [02:27] We can get through usually with this many immunizations, 40 [02:31] or 50 an hour at this facility specifically, we have over 100 residents [02:35] that are all room to room based. [02:36] So that takes a little more time. [02:38] And then have you ever had a reaction after receiving a vaccine in the past? [02:44] I can see how grateful they are. [02:45] And I'm just grateful [02:47] and honored to be able to give them the vaccine [02:49] for me to be able to do it directly. [02:51] You know, the last patient I just did, she's like, I'm waiting for the vaccine. [02:54] And I was like, I'm here with the vaccine. [02:56] And she's like, You're here with the vaccine. [02:58] So I'm part of the bigger movement of vaccinating basically America. [03:04] And that's it. [03:06] Well, that's the easiest one I ever had. [03:09] I'm glad with hay fever, I was you know, [03:12] they can't come and visit me and I can't go visit them. [03:16] But it's. Oh, gosh, it makes me mad anyway. [03:20] It really is hard. [03:21] And it's been harder for a lot of other people who have lost folks. [03:26] And so I haven't had that problem, but [03:29] it's awful. [03:31] So I will mask myself [03:33] any time to prevent that from happening. [03:37] When I was a kid, [03:39] everybody knew people [03:43] who had somebody in their family that had polio. [03:47] Any vaccine that prevents [03:50] unnecessary pain and suffering is a good thing to have. [03:54] All right. [03:54] I'm just going to sanitize your arm real quick. [04:00] I am happy that my son sometimes [04:03] he talks to me on Facebook on face time. [04:08] This time. [04:09] And my daughter calls me every night. [04:12] I know I can touch them and see them, but [04:16] I just think the time will come. [04:18] I hope. I hope I'm still alive. [04:23] And make [04:25] sure you're safe. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5952716/missed-second-vaccine-appointment/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5952716/missed-second-vaccine-appointment/"},"headline":"I Missed My Second COVID-19 Vaccine Appointment. 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