Vaccine Eligibility
The Brooklyn Hospital Center is administering the COVID-19 vaccine to people who meet New York State’s eligibility criteria, currently those ages 5 years old and up. We are also providing booster doses to all patients ages 12 and over. We encourage all eligible New Yorkers to get the COVID-19 vaccine and/or booster as soon as possible! For more information about COVID-19 vaccine boosters for people 12 and over, scroll down and read more.
TBHC Vaccine Appointment Info
TBHC only offers Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine (now also known as the brand name COMIRNATY).
All vaccine appointments must be scheduled online though the MyChart patient portal link via the red button on the right side of this page (www.tbh.org/vaccine). Do not schedule a vaccine appointment if you:
- Recently had a COVID-19 vaccine elsewhere
- Are feeling sick (delay until feeling better)
- Are currently positive for COVID-19
- Received monoclonal antibodies or convalescent plasma as part of COVID-19 treatment in the last 90 days
To allow for social distancing, do not arrive at our Vaccine Center (121 DeKalb Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11201) earlier than 15 minutes before your scheduled appointment time.
Please bring a valid photo ID and insurance card.
We currently offer the following types of COVID-19 Pfizer vaccine doses:
- COVID-19 Pfizer Vaccine Dose 1
- For individuals who have NOT received a COVID-19 vaccine
- You will also need to bring a printout of the completed New York State COVID-19 Vaccine Form with you or have the completed form on your cell phone or tablet to show.
- COVID-19 Pfizer Vaccine Dose 2
- For individuals who have received one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine at least 21 days prior
- COVID-19 Pfizer Vaccine Booster (Dose 3)
- For individuals who have received two doses of the Pfizer or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine at least five months ago or the Johnson & Johnson vaccine at least two months ago. This includes people who are:
- Ages 12 and up and meet the vaccination timeline criteria above
- For individuals who have received two doses of the Pfizer or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine at least five months ago or the Johnson & Johnson vaccine at least two months ago. This includes people who are:
- COVID-19 Pfizer Vaccine Booster (Dose 4)
- For individuals 50 years of age and older who have received a Booster (Dose 3) of any authorized or approved COVID-19 vaccine at least 4 months prior.
- For individuals 12 years of age and older who are immunocompromised and have received a Booster (Dose 3) of any authorized or approved COVID-19 vaccine at least 4 months prior. This includes people who have:
- Active treatment for solid tumor and hematologic malignancies
- Receipt of solid-organ transplant and taking immunosuppressive therapy
- Receipt of CAR-T-cell or hematopoietic stem cell transplant (within 2 years of transplantation or taking immunosuppression therapy)
- Moderate or severe primary immunodeficiency (e.g., DiGeorge syndrome, Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome)
- Advanced or untreated HIV infection
- Active treatment with high-dose corticosteroids (i.e., ≥20mg prednisone or equivalent per day), alkylating agents, antimetabolites, transplant-related immunosuppressive drugs, cancer chemotherapeutic agents classified as severely immunosuppressive, tumor-necrosis (TNF) blockers, and other biologic agents that are immunosuppressive or immunomodulatory.
Take care of your CDC vaccination card!
TBHC is not able to provide replacements for lost or damaged CDC vaccination cards. Be sure to keep it in a safe, secure place, such as a file with other important documents like passports or birth certificates. Consider scanning your card to be stored in a safe digital location, or taking a photo with your smartphone as a backup, in addition to your physical copy. Pictures of your vaccination card are an acceptable proof of vaccination for indoor venues in New York.
Parents and guardians, remember to do the same for your children’s vaccine cards.
To print or download your COVID vaccine records, go to https://covid19vaccine.health.ny.gov/excelsior-pass. You can store your Pass digitally on your smartphone with the Excelsior Pass Wallet app, available for free from the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.
You can also print your Pass from the Excelsior Pass website. You will need to enter your date of birth, county of vaccination (Kings), the type of vaccine (Pfizer), and the date of your second dose.
To download NYC’s COVID Safe App, which stores a photo of your vaccination card and your ID, go to https://www1.nyc.gov/site/doh/covid/covid-19-vaccines-keytonyc.page.
Vaccine brand mix and match update
TBHC only offers Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine (now also now known as the brand name COMIRNATY).
All COVID-19 vaccines now require a minimum of two doses for the primary series. It is highly preferred to receive the same vaccine for all doses in the primary series.
- If it is absolutely not possible to complete the series with the same vaccine, then another mRNA vaccine can be used.
- If the same vaccine is not immediately available, but will be available soon, the patient should wait to get the same one.
- This should not be an issue in NYC where all vaccines are readily available.
Booster doses can be a different vaccine from the primary series; however, the recommendation is still to receive the same one.
- If a patient received a primary series with J&J, Astra Zeneca, or Sinovax, offering a booster with an mRNA vaccine would be recommended.
- If a patient received a primary series of an mRNA vaccine (Pfizer of Moderna), their booster dose (if eligible) should be an mRNA vaccine and ideally the same mRNA vaccine as the primary series.
Additional CDC guidance can be found here: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/booster-shot.html
CDC update regarding the Johnson and Johnson vaccine
On Thursday, December 16, the CDC recommended that mRNA COVID-19 vaccines (i.e., Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines) are preferred over the Janssen COVID-19 vaccine for the prevention of COVID-19 for all people age 18 years or older. This recommendation applies to both primary series and booster doses.
If you received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, it is recommended that you get boosted with an mRNA vaccine — we offer Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines at TBHC.