COVID Coding Guidelines

The Covid coding guidelines for vaccinations are confused by the rapidly changing FDA approvals, changes in the CDC recommendations, and the fact that there are several different vaccines available all with their own individual best practices. The following is a current listing of vaccination recommendations based on age and type of vaccine.

Children 5 – 11 Years Old

For children ages 5 to 11, the approved vaccination is the Pfizer – BioNTech Orange Cap

• Non-Immunocompromised children should be given 2 doses, not less than 21 days apart. A booster shot is not recommended.
• Children who are moderately or severely immunocompromised should be given three doses. The first two should not be less than 21 days apart and the third should be given no less than 28 days after the second. A booster shot is not recommended.

Children 12 – 17 Years Old

For children in-between these ages, there are two available Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines, the gray cap, and the purple cap.

Purple Cap

• Non-immunocompromised children should be given two doses at least 21 days but preferably 8 weeks apart. A booster shot may be administered 5 months after the second dose.
• Children who are moderately or severely immunocompromised should be given 3 doses with the first two no less than 21 days apart and the third no less than 28 days after the second. A booster may be administered at least 12 weeks after the third dose.

Grey Cap

• Non-immunocompromised children should be given 2 doses at least 21 days but preferably 8 weeks apart. A booster may be given 5 months after the second dose.
• Children who are moderately to severely immunocompromised should be given 3 doses with the first two no less than 21 days apart and the third no less than 28 days after the second. A booster may be administered at least 12 weeks after the third dose.

Individuals 18 Years and Older

For adults, there are 4 vaccination options: Pfizer-BioNTech Purple and Gray Caps, Moderna, and Janssen.

Pfizer-BioNTech Purple Cap

• Non-immunocompromised adults should be given two doses at least 21 days but preferably 8 weeks apart. A booster shot may be administered 5 months after the second dose.
• Adults who are moderately or severely immunocompromised should be given 3 doses with the first two no less than 21 days apart and the third no less than 28 days after the second. A booster may be administered at least 12 weeks after the third dose.

Pfizer-BioNTech Gray Cap

• Non-immunocompromised adults should be given 2 doses at least 21 days but preferably 8 weeks apart. A booster may be given 5 months after the second dose.
• Adults who are moderately to severely immunocompromised should be given 3 doses with the first two no less than 21 days apart and the third no less than 28 days after the second. A booster may be administered at least 12 weeks after the third dose.

Moderna Red Cap

• Non-immunocompromised adults should be given two doses at least 28 days but preferably 8 weeks apart. A booster shot, a half dose of the original vaccinations, may be administered 5 months after the second dose.
• Adults who are moderately or severely immunocompromised should be given 3 doses with the first two no less than 28 days apart and the third no less than 28 days after the second. A booster, a half dose of the original vaccinations, may be administered at least 12 weeks after the third dose.

 Janssen Blue Cap

• Non-immunocompromised adults should be administered one dose. A booster shot may be given no less than 8 weeks after the initial dose.

Adults that are moderately or severely immunocompromised should be administered a single dose of this vaccine to be followed up by any of the mRNA types of covid vaccines no less than 28 days after the Janssen vaccine. A booster dose may be administered no less than 8 weeks after dose number 2