Welcome to
Your Vaccination Guide
Still feeling uncertain about your vaccine choices? You are not alone. With a vast array of information, misinformation, differing opinions, and debate, many people are unsure what to do and where to start. YourVaccinationGuide.org is here to provide reliable, straightforward information about vaccines that you may need.
DISCLAIMER:
This consumer guide/website/document is not intended to provide medical advice. Talk to your doctor about any questions you may have.
If you think you are having a medical or psychiatric emergency, please call 911 or go to your nearest hospital. Website updates will be made often. Last updated 4/3/25.
Keep your family healthy!
You and your family deserve to stay healthy and feel safe. Living through a pandemic has made it very clear how a virus can make us unsafe. Viruses can infect and kill randomly as COVID-19 did, or they can target specific groups. Those who have a chronic disease, are immunocompromised, are older, or very young are usually among the hardest hit by viruses.
We fight viruses with vaccines. Vaccines save lives. Every year, four million deaths are prevented by childhood vaccination (CDC). Doctors and researchers are constantly working to find new and better vaccines. Use this site to find the vaccines and boosters you need. Don’t forget that COVID-19 variants are still infecting people, and the CDC recommends continued vaccination to protect yourself (CDC). If you need to find a COVID-19 booster, please go to Vaccines.gov.
Check your state’s adult vaccination rate Vaccine Track. Vaccination is important — talk about it!
The Mata Sisters’ COVID-19 Story
The Mata sisters have experience in healthcare. They founded Looms for Lupus to bring awareness to minority families and those affected by Lupus, Fibromyalgia and other overlapping illnesses when the oldest sister was diagnosed with Lupus. When more than one family member ended up with COVID-19, it was a traumatizing experience for them. In this video, Estela and Juana Mata tell us what COVID-19 was like for them.
Stay in the Know
Have You Had Your Vaccinations?
COVID-19 Vaccine
You Still Need One
Vaccination Information
You Need to Know
Frequently Asked Questions — Answered
What Do You Do
Now If You Have COVID-19?
Vaccines Keeping Us Safe
Around the world, the COVID-19 vaccines have given hope to billions of people. While the COVID-19 vaccines target this specific virus, staying current on all your recommended vaccines will help you stay healthy year-round. Are your vaccinations current?
Are Your Vaccines Up to Date?
Vaccination better enables our bodies to fight off illness and disease. Visit the CDC for a list of vaccines you should have or visit our Vaccination Page for downloadable vaccination cards with adult, teen, and childhood vaccinations that may be needed.
If you don’t have your vaccination card, ask your parents, or childhood doctor for your immunization record. If you can’t find it, your current doctor may choose to test you for immunities. Or visit the U.S. Department of Health and Human Service page to see which vaccine you are likely to need.
Working in the Community to Increase Vaccine Use &
Keep Our Communities Healthy
YourVaccinationGuide.org and its partners, plus the California Pharmacist Association and the Komoto Family Foundation, are working with our communities to address long-standing barriers to immunization in communities across California.
More worrisome is the drop-in vaccination rates and the increase in diseases thought eradicated – we’ve lost ground in the battle to protect ourselves from disease. Visit our Get Vaccinated page to learn about this resurgence of diseases. We have innovative, ambitious ideas and are asking for more actionable ideas from our community to boost adult vaccination rates.
The goal is to support the critical work of partner organizations within the community and engage those provider partners who can deliver vaccination. Together we can realize our mission to reduce health inequities and reach communities who are not protecting themselves through vaccination. Help us set a new precedent for adult immunization rates in California.
Tools for Educating About Vaccination:
- YourVaccineGuide.org Communication Tool Kit – coming in April
- Coloring Book (Komoto Family Foundation, CPhA, and The California Chronic Care Coalition) — coming soon
- Visit the Why Vaccinate page with history and other insight into the importance of vaccination
- Visit our Resources page for information, research and tools
How the U.S. Makes Vaccines Safe
Vaccines go through an extensive process before being offered to the public. The process of research and development for any medication is extensive before it gets to the testing or vaccine trial process. This is a three-phase testing process where they give the vaccine to a sample group of people and monitor the results before submitting their medication and the testing results to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The FDA has oversight of the safety, effectiveness, and quality of vaccines in the U.S. When a vaccine or medication is submitted to them, they evaluate the data submitted to decide if the vaccine is safe and effective. They also assess whether the manufacturing and facility information assures that the vaccine as it is produced will be a quality and consistent product (FDA). Once approved by the FDA, the vaccine goes to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
The CDC provides guidance for the use of vaccines once they are approved. It sets the U.S. immunization schedules for children and adults based on recommendations from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). Before recommending a vaccine the ACIP considers many factors, including the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine (CDC). Vaccines continue to be monitored after they are approved (CDC).
In the case of the COVID-19 vaccines, they were first recommended for Emergency Use Authorization (EAU). An EUA makes a vaccine or medication available to the public faster than the traditional approval process, but full FDA approval still hinges on data that shows the vaccine is safe and effective. Since EUA is more limited than full approval, drug makers are expected to submit the vaccine for full approval later. The EAU process was available prior to the pandemic and is still available when it is needed.
COVID-19 Information Changes Often
New information about vaccines and COVID-19 is available often, sometimes on a daily basis. Check back here to find the latest information or give us your email so we let you know when there is new information available.
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