Vaccines
Vaccination is the most effective way to protect against severe illness and hospitalization. Find free vaccine clinics and learn about vaccine myths and facts, download resources, and more.
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Questions? Contact us:
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1010 Massachusetts Ave.
2nd Floor
Boston, MA 02118
Vaccine Clinics in Boston
We work with community partners to bring Boston residents and families vaccine clinics throughout the year.
No appointment necessary, walk-ins welcome. Some clinics offer pre-registration. Staff will ask for your insurance and identification card, but insurance and identification are not required. If you have a health insurance card, please bring it with you.
| Date and Time | Location | Available Vaccines | Registration |
|---|---|---|---|
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Wednesday, September 23 |
BCYF Curtis Hall 20 South St., Jamaica Plain, MA 02130 |
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Register |
| Thursday, September 24 4 - 8 p.m. |
BCYF Vine St. 339 Dudley St., Roxbury, MA 02119 |
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Register |
| Monday, September 28 4 - 8 p.m. |
BCYF Paris St. 112 Paris St., East Boston, MA 02128 |
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Register |
| Thursday, October 1 4 - 8 p.m. |
BCYF Perkins 155 Talbot Ave., Dorchester, MA 02124 |
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Register |
| Monday, October 5 9 a.m. - 1 p.m. |
City Hall 1 City Hall Square, Room 801, Downtown Boston, MA 02201 |
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N/A |
| Wednesday, October 7 4 - 8 p.m. |
Josephine Fiorentino Community Center 123 Antwerp St. Extension, Brighton, MA 02135 |
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Register |
| Thursday, October 8 2 - 6 p.m. |
BCYF Roslindale 6 Cummins Highway, Roslindale, MA 02131 |
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Register |
| Tuesday, October 13 4 - 8 p.m. |
The Vietnamese American Community Center 42 Charles St., Dorchester, MA 02122 |
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Register |
| Thursday, October 15 1 - 5 p.m. |
City Hall 1 City Hall Square, Room 801, Downtown Boston, MA 02201 |
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N/A |
| Saturday, October 17 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. |
BCYF Hyde Park 1179 River St., Hyde Park, MA 02136 |
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Register |
| Wednesday, October 21 3 - 7 p.m. |
Pao Arts Center 99 Albany Street, Chinatown, MA 02111 |
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Register |
| Thursday, October 22 4 - 8 p.m. |
BCYF Blackstone 50 West Brookline St., South End, MA 02118 |
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Register |
| Wednesday, October 28 4 - 8 p.m. |
BCYF Curley 1663 Columbia Road, South Boston, MA 02127 |
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Register |
| Thursday, October 29 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. |
BCYF Mattahunt 100 Hebron St., Mattapan, MA 02126 |
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Register |
| Monday, November 2 3 - 7 p.m. |
BCYF Nazzaro 30 North Bennet St., North End, MA 02113 |
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Register |
| Tuesday, November 3 9 a.m. - 1 p.m. |
Boston Elks Lodge #10 1 Morrell St., West Roxbury 02132 |
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Register |
| Monday, November 16 3 - 7 p.m. |
Bruce C. Bolling Municipal Building 2300 Washington St., Roxbury, MA 02119 |
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Register |
| Thursday, November 19 4 - 8 p.m. |
Charlestown YMCA 150 Third Ave., Charlestown, MA 02129 |
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Register |
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Tuesday, December 8 10:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. |
Adams Street Branch, Boston Public Library 690 Adams St., Dorchester, MA 02122 |
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Register |
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Wednesday, December 9 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. |
Central Library in Copley Square, Boston Public Library McKim Building 700 Boylston St., Back Bay, MA 02116 |
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Register |
You can also contact your healthcare provider, visit a local pharmacy or health center, or click the button below to find an accessible vaccine clinic.
Recommended Routine Vaccines
Recommended Routine VaccinesVaccines are one of the most effective ways to protect people from serious and potentially life-threatening infections. Vaccines help the body protect itself against infections and reduce the spread of infection within families and communities.
In the last 30 years, routine childhood vaccinations have prevented 32 million hospitalizations and 1.1 million deaths in the U.S. The federal administration recently reduced the number of recommended vaccinations for infants and children. Massachusetts continues to recommend the full childhood vaccine schedule recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Massachusetts also continues to recommend seasonal and routine vaccines for adults. All recommended childhood and adult vaccinations will continue to be available free of charge for individuals in Massachusetts.
Click through the drawers below to learn more about each vaccine and find more information about the illnesses they prevent.
Chickenpox (Varicella) can cause an itchy rash that starts as small red dots and develops into fluid-filled blisters, along with fever, tiredness, headache, and loss of appetite. In severe cases, chickenpox can cause serious skin infections, pneumonia, brain inflammation, or bloodstream infections, and can sometimes be fatal.
Vaccination helps prevent chickenpox and these complications. It’s never too late to get vaccinated if you’re not immune. Children usually get 2 doses (at 12-15 months and 4-6 years), and teens and adults who aren’t immune can also be vaccinated.
COVID-19 can cause fever, chills, cough, sore throat, shortness of breath, body aches, and loss of taste or smell. In severe cases, COVID-19 can cause pneumonia, difficulty breathing, long COVID, or sometimes death.
Vaccination helps reduce the risk of severe illness, hospitalization, and death.
Flu (Influenza) can cause fever, chills, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headaches, and tiredness. In severe cases, flu can cause pneumonia or sometimes death.
Vaccination helps prevent flu and reduce the risk of serious complications.
Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) can cause fever, chills, and tiredness. In severe cases, Hib can cause pneumonia, meningitis (swelling of the brain), infections of the blood, or sometimes death.
Vaccination helps prevent Hib and these serious complications, and it’s never too late to get vaccinated if you’re not protected. Children usually get 3-4 doses starting at 2 months, with additional doses at 4 and 6 months and a booster at 12-15 months. Those older than age 5 years will only receive the vaccine if they have certain health conditions.
Hepatitis A (Hep A) and Hepatitis B (Hep B) can cause tiredness, fever, loss of appetite, nausea, and yellowing of the skin or eyes (jaundice). In severe cases, hepatitis can cause liver failure, liver damage, or sometimes death. Hepatitis B can also become a long-term infection that can lead to liver cancer. Vaccination helps prevent these diseases and their complications.
HPV (Human Papillomavirus) often causes no symptoms, but some types can cause genital warts and others can lead to cancers of the cervix, throat, anus, penis, vulva, and vagina.
Vaccination helps prevent HPV infections and many HPV-related cancers.
The MMR vaccine protects against three illnesses: Measles, Mumps, and Rubella.
- Measles can cause fever, whole-body rash, cough, runny nose, and red watery eyes. In severe cases, measles can cause pneumonia or brain infection.
- Mumps can cause painful swelling of the jaw, tiredness, and loss of appetite. In severe cases, mumps can cause deafness or brain swelling.
- Rubella can cause a mild rash, fever, and sore throat. In severe cases, rubella can cause arthritis, congenital heart problems, or miscarriage.
Vaccination helps prevent these diseases and their complications.
Meningococcal disease can cause fever, vomiting, severe headache, and other symptoms. In severe cases, it can lead to death.
Vaccination helps prevent meningococcal disease and these serious complications.
Mpox can cause fever, headache, muscle aches, swollen lymph nodes, tiredness, and a rash that can develop into painful or itchy fluid-filled bumps or blisters. In severe cases, mpox can cause serious skin infections, pneumonia, and eye infections.
Vaccination helps prevent mpox and can reduce the risk of severe illness.
Pneumococcal disease can cause pneumonia with fever, chills, cough, chest pain, and difficulty breathing. In severe cases, it can cause meningitis, infections of the blood, or sometimes death.
Vaccination helps prevent pneumococcal disease and these complications, and it’s never too late to get vaccinated if you’re not protected. Children usually receive 4 doses of pneumococcal vaccine at 2, 4, 6, and 12-15 months. Adults 65 and older and other children and adults with specific risk factors may also benefit from vaccination.
Polio can cause fever, flu like symptoms, pain in the limbs, and stiffness in the neck and back. In severe cases, polio can cause paralysis, permanent disability, or death.
Vaccination helps prevent polio and these serious complications, and it’s never too late to get vaccinated if you’re not fully vaccinated. Children usually get 4 doses (at 2 months, 4 months, 6-18 months, and 4-6 years), and unvaccinated teens and adults can also get vaccinated.
RSV (Respiratory Syncytial Virus) can cause runny nose, coughing, fever, and wheezing. In severe cases, RSV can cause pneumonia, difficulty breathing, dehydration, or sometimes death, especially in infants, older adults, and people with weakened immune systems.
Vaccination helps reduce the risk of severe illness, hospitalization, and death.
Rotavirus can cause severe watery diarrhea, vomiting, fever, stomach pain, and loss of appetite. In severe cases, rotavirus can cause dehydration, hospitalization, or sometimes death, especially in infants and young children.
Vaccination helps prevent rotavirus and its complications. Infants should receive the first dose of the vaccine by 2 months of age. Depending on the vaccine used, children receive either 2 or 3 doses, with the final dose given before 8 months of age.
Shingles can cause a painful, burning, or tingling rash on one side of the body or face. It can also cause fever, headache, and upset stomach. In severe cases, shingles can cover more of the body and cause pneumonia, vision problems, or long-term nerve pain.
Vaccination is the best way to prevent shingles and its complications. Adults 50 and older and those with a weakened immune system should receive 2 doses of the shingles vaccine. Even if you’ve had shingles before, vaccination can help prevent it from happening again.
The TDaP/DTaP vaccine protects against three illnesses: Diphtheria, Tetanus, and Pertussis (Whooping Cough) and their symptoms.
- Tetanus can cause painful stiffening of the muscles, difficulty breathing, and inability to open the mouth or swallow.
- Diphtheria can cause respiratory and skin infections, as well as heart failure and paralysis.
- Pertussis, also called "Whooping Cough" can cause uncontrollable and violent coughing that makes it hard to breathe, eat, or drink.
Vaccination helps prevent these diseases and their complications, and it’s never too late to get vaccinated if not fully protected.
Children usually get 5 doses of DTaP (at 2, 4, and 6 months, 15-18 months, and 4-6 years), followed by 1 dose of TDaP at 11-12 years. Adults should get a TDaP once, then a Td or TDaP booster every 10 years. Pregnant people should also get TDaP during each pregnancy, preferably at 27-36 weeks, to provide protection for their babies.
Myths and Facts
Myths and FactsFact 1: Hand washing and clean water are important to stop the spread of many diseases. However, many infections can still spread regardless of how clean we are. Vaccination is essential to stop the spread of infectious diseases. If people are not vaccinated, uncommon diseases, such as measles, can come back.
Fact 2: Vaccines are very safe. Vaccines go through thorough testing for years before approval for public use and vaccine monitoring continues after public approval. The Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System is a national program that monitors reactions to vaccines. The Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System ensures that the benefits of vaccines far outnumber the risks. Most vaccine reactions are minor and temporary, such as a sore arm or mild fever. Serious health events due to vaccines are extremely rare.
Fact 3: There is no evidence that these vaccines cause SIDS. Ninety percent of SIDS cases occur before an infant reaches the age of 6 months. The rate of SIDS is highest between 1 and 4 months of age. Unfortunately, this is the age when children receive their DTaP and polio vaccines. SIDS deaths are co-incidental to vaccination. These deaths would occur with or without these vaccines.
Fact 4: Many vaccine preventable diseases are uncommon in the United States. But, these diseases still exist in the rest of the world. Measles, for example, is still common in some countries in Europe, Asia, the Pacific, and Africa. In 2014, there was a large outbreak of measles at the Disneyland theme park in California. Unvaccinated people made up the majority of those who got measles. Measles is very contagious and spreads easily among unvaccinated people. Vaccines can protect us at home or when we are on vacation from diseases that we may not know are around us.
Fact 5: There is no evidence that simultaneous vaccines hurt a child's immune system. Children face daily exposure to hundreds of foreign substances that can cause an immune response. Offering multiple vaccines at once decreases the number of clinic visits. This saves time and money. Combined vaccination is also less painful to children. In the case of MMR, it means fewer injections.
Fact 6: Influenza is a serious disease. The flu affects hundreds of people in Boston each year. Pregnant women, small children, the elderly, and those with chronic conditions, are at higher risk for severe illness from flu. It is important for pregnant women to get the vaccine. Mothers need to protect their newborns since there is no vaccine for babies under six months of age. The vaccine protects against the 3-4 strains of flu expected to circulate in a particular year.
Fact 7: Some vaccines contain thimerosal. Thimerosal is an organic, mercury-containing compound used as a preservative. It is most often used in multi-dose vials. Studies show that thimerosal is safe, and the amount used in vaccines does not cause a health risk.
Fact 8: Vaccines do not cause autism. A study in 1998 wrongly claimed a link, but it was later proven false and removed for fraud. Autism often appears around the same age children get vaccines, which can cause confusion. Many studies show there is no connection between vaccines and autism.
Download Materials
Download MaterialsCommunity Vaccination Conversation Videos
Dr. Bisola Ojikutu
Executive Director, Public Health Commission
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Dr. Sari Sanchez
Medico de Salud Publica
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Claudia
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Monise
Manman
Kreyòl ayisyen
Jair
Father
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Pâi
Kriolu
Cynthia
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Dr. Joseph
Pedyat
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Lisa
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Related Resources
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Questions? Contact us:
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1010 Massachusetts Ave.
2nd Floor
Boston, MA 02118
