Primary Care

With the approval of the new updated mRNA vaccines for 2023-2024 by the Food and Drug Administration, Eskenazi Health’s distribution of the bivalent vaccines has been paused until the new vaccines arrive. Please check back on this page for more information on timing.

Protect Yourself and Your Family Against COVID

Everyday life can be stressful, but protecting your family against COVID is an easy way to take one worry off your mind. And because they’re available for anyone from 6-month-olds to seniors, they can help keep everyone in your family from getting seriously ill.

Make plans now to get the protection you need at an Eskenazi Health Center location or meet our traveling vaccination team at an upcoming event.

Find an Eskenazi Health Center Location Near You

COVID vaccines and boosters are offered at all Eskenazi Health Center primary care locations and Eskenazi Health Pharmacy locations in Indianapolis.

Children as young as 6 months and anyone older can be vaccinated or boosted at Eskenazi Heath Center primary care locations—but appointments must be made in advance. To make an appointment with a primary care location, please call Eskenazi Health Connections at 317.880.7666.

People 5 years old or older can be vaccinated or boosted at Eskenazi Health Pharmacy locations—and walk-in appointments are welcomed during regular business hours.

Eskenazi Health team members are available on-site to review vaccine options with you. Again, please note Eskenazi Health Pharmacy locations cannot administer vaccines or boosters to anyone younger than 5 years old.

Need assistance finding a location? Please contact us at 317.880.0000.

What Should I Bring with Me?

Your COVID Vaccination Record

If you’ve already received at least one dose of the COVID vaccine, please bring the COVID vaccination record card that was given to you. If you need a vaccination certificate to provide proof that you have received the vaccine, you can get one through Access Indiana’s Vaccination Portal. If you can’t find your COVID vaccination record card and don’t have access to the internet, we can look your record up for you when you come in for your vaccine.

Please note that Eskenazi Health does not offer replacement vaccination record cards.

Your Insurance Card

If you have an insurance card, please bring it, but insurance is not necessary to get your vaccine. If you don’t have insurance, your shots and vaccines will still be free.

Vaccine Appointments for Children

Children 6 Months to 15 Years Old

Any child between 6 months and 15 years old must be accompanied by an adult. If that adult is not the child’s parent or legal guardian, consent from a parent or legal guardian must be submitted in advance.

COVID vaccines for children ages 6 months and older are available through Eskenazi Health Center sites by appointment only. Appointments can be made by calling Eskenazi Health Connections at 317.880.7666.

Children Aged 16 or 17 Years Old

Ideally, children aged 16 or 17 will also bring a parent or guardian with them. But if that’s not possible, a parent or guardian may provide written or verbal authorization.

NOT SURE WHICH COVID VACCINE TO GET?

If You Have Not Been Vaccinated for COVID

You will need to get the primary series of vaccinations before you can get any booster. All of the following vaccines are approved or authorized in the United States and all can help prevent people from getting seriously ill, being hospitalized or dying.

Pfizer-BioNTech
Moderna
Novavax

If you are moderately or severely immunocompromised, the CDC offers different recommendations for COVID vaccines.

If You’ve Already Completed a Primary Series of Vaccinations Against COVID

It may be time for a booster. The updated boosters are bivalent, which means they protect against the original virus that causes COVID and the newer Omicron variant BA.4 and BA.5.

Booster recommendations are based on your age, the vaccine you first received and the length of time since your last dose. Even infants 6 months old are eligible for boosters as of March 2023.

Those who are immunocompromised should receive a second booster at least four months after receiving the first booster.

See if You’re Ready for a Bivalent Booster

Children ages 6 months - 4 years
- Completed primary vaccine series using Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna
- Eligible for bivalent booster as of March 2023
Children ages 5 years - 11 years
- Completed primary vaccine series using Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna
- Eligible for bivalent booster as of October 2022
Individuals 12 years and older
- Completed primary vaccine series
- Eligible for bivalent booster as of September 2022

Want More Information?

You can visit this page from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to learn more about the available options.

Once you arrive at the Eskenazi Health Center site or Eskenazi Health Pharmacy location, you can also ask the staff which vaccine option is right for you.

Can You Mix Vaccines in Your Primary Series?

CDC does not recommend mixing products during your primary series of vaccinations. If you got Pfizer-BioNTech for your first dose, you should get Pfizer-BioNTech for your second dose. Same goes for Moderna or Novavax.

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COMMON QUESTIONS WHEN GETTING THE COVID VACCINE

My child needs shots for school. Is it safe to get other immunizations at the same time as the COVID vaccine?

Receiving multiple vaccines at the same time, called coadministration, is a common clinical practice. The COVID vaccine can be administered at the same time or near other immunizations required by schools, including MMR (measles, mumps, rubella vaccine), HPV (human papillomavirus vaccine, or Gardasil 9), whooping cough and Tdap (tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis, or Boostrix). Eskenazi Health Center sites can administer these for you; there’s no need to make separate trips.
Is it safe to get a flu shot and a COVID vaccine or booster at the same time?

According to the CDC, studies and clinical trials indicate that getting your flu shot and COVID vaccine at the same time is safe—and saves you time.

What’s in the COVID vaccine?

Vaccine ingredients vary by manufacturer. None of the vaccines contain eggs, gelatin, latex or preservatives. All COVID vaccines are free from metals, such as iron, nickel, cobalt, lithium and rare earth alloys. They are also free from manufactured products such as microchips, electrodes, carbon nanotubes and nanowire semiconductors. None of the COVID vaccines authorized or approved in the United States contain any live virus.
What side effects does the COVID vaccine cause?

The effects vary from person to person. Some people have no side effects at all. Other people experience symptoms that can include a sore arm, a mild fever or a rash. All side effects typically disappear within a few days (and they’re proof that your body is building antibodies to fight future illness). In any case, a day or two of mild discomfort is better than suffering through a week or more of COVID.
I already had COVID. Do I still need to get vaccinated?

Yes. People who already had COVID and do not get vaccinated after their recovery are actually more likely to get COVID again than those who get vaccinated after their recovery.
Can healthy people in good shape skip the vaccine?

People of good health should still get vaccinated. For the best protection, the CDC recommends that anyone over the age of 6 months get vaccinated against COVID. Remember, this vaccination doesn’t just protect you. It can help protect your family, friends and loved ones, too.

Some people in my family and neighborhood don’t trust the COVID vaccine. Why should I?

After years of COVID, the CDC has been able to study and prove the effectiveness of those vaccines—and scientists have worked hard to make updated versions of vaccines more effective against new variants.

Eskenazi Health works to bring health care to every person in every neighborhood. By getting free vaccinations now, you can help to change health outcomes for your entire community.
If I’m an immigrant, can I still get vaccinated against COVID for free?

Yes. The CDC has stated that COVID vaccines are available to anyone—including undocumented immigrants—regardless of their citizenship status.
If English is not my first language, do I have a right to interpretation or translation services when getting a COVID vaccine?

Yes. Federal law and civil rights protections ensure that people with limited English language skills are entitled to interpretation or translation services to help them communicate with health care providers who receive federal funding.

Eskenazi Health provides language services for patients who prefer to communicate in their native language. Over 170 languages are supported via interpreters, video conferencing and over-the-phone services. Patients are asked to notify Eskenazi Health staff if they need interpretation services during their hospital stay or appointment.
Will the vaccine provider ask me for a driver’s license, a Social Security number or another form of identification?

You will be asked to provide some form of identification before Eskenazi Health Center registers you as a patient. If you have no identification, you will be asked to fill out an identification form with a field requesting your Social Security number. If you do not have a Social Security number, that field may be left blank.