evidence: These latest COVID-19 vaccines are produced by the drug companies Moderna, Novavax, and Pfizer-BioNTech. [...] The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are a type known as an mRNA vaccine. (Read more about COVID-19 vaccine types.) For people ages 12 and older who are unable to get an updated mRNA vaccine, or choose not to, another type of vaccine, made by the biotech company Novavax, is available. The Novavax product is a protein subunit vaccine. Two doses are recommended three weeks apart if you haven’t been vaccinated for COVID-19 before. [...] As of September 2023, the updated COVID-19 vaccine formulations produced by Moderna and Pfizer are fully approved for use as a single dose for people ages 12 and older, and have emergency use authorization for use in children 6 months through 11 years. (Note that the total number of shots differs for infants, very young children and some people with highly weakened immune systems.) Novavax’s COVID-19 vaccine is available under emergency authorization as a two-dose initial series or a single booster six months later for people 12 and older.