The COVID-19 vaccine can prevent COVID-19 symptoms and severe COVID-19 illness.

There are currently three COVID-19 vaccines authorized by the Food and Drug Administration:

• Pfizer BioNTech
• Moderna
• Johnson and Johnson

The vaccines are administered through shots in the arm. The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines require two doses taken 3 to 4 weeks apart.

To learn more, visit the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Vaccine page.

Spread

The virus is most likely to spread to people who are within about 6 feet of an infected person. The virus is in droplets that are sprayed when a person coughs or sneezes, and possibly when they talk. Staying 6 feet away helps protect you from that spray.

Scientists disagree on how long COVID-19 lives on surfaces, but it can live on surfaces that people frequently touch. The virus can then be spread if someone touches their eyes, nose, or mouth with unwashed hands that have virus on them.

Scientists now believe that people who have no symptoms can spread the virus. However, people who are experiencing symptoms like coughing or sore throat are probably more likely to transmit the virus to others.

Prevention

To prevent coronavirus, you should take the same precautions that you would during cold and flu season:

Do:

• Get the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Vaccine.
• Stay home at all times if you are sick. If you’re not feeling any better after 3 to 4 days, contact your health care provider.
• Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
• Wear a face covering.
• Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue or sleeve when sneezing or coughing. Do not use your hands.
• Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
• Keep at least 6 feet of distance between yourself and others.
• Consider telecommuting, biking, or walking to work if possible.
• Consider staggering working hours. For example, instead of 9 AM to 5 PM, change some work hours to 10 AM to 6 PM or 8 AM to 4 PM.

Don’t:

• Touch your face with unwashed hands.
• Shake hands. Instead, wave.
• Go to the emergency room or other places to seek health care if you are not severely ill.
• Visit family or friends who are elderly or have compromised immune systems or chronic respiratory or coronary issues if you feel sick.

To report a lack of social distancing or face coverings, visit the Social Distancing or Face Covering Complaint page.

Cleaning and Disinfection Tips

• If a surface is dirty, first clean it using a detergent or soap and water before disinfecting.
• To disinfect a surface, use a diluted household bleach solution or an alcohol solution with at least 70% alcohol. Most common EPA-registered household disinfectants should be effective.
• Diluted household bleach solutions can be used if appropriate for the surface.
• Follow manufacturer’s instructions for application and proper ventilation.
• Check that the product is not past its expiration date. Unexpired household bleach is effective against coronaviruses when properly diluted.
• Never mix household bleach with ammonia or any other cleanser.

Fully vaccinated people can:

• Attend private indoor gatherings without wearing a face covering or staying 6 feet apart from:
  • People who are fully vaccinated
  • People from a different household who are unvaccinated and at low risk for severe COVID-19 illness
• Choose to not wear a face covering when outdoors, except in crowded settings and venues. Vaccinated people should consider using a face covering when around unvaccinated people who are at increased risk for severe COVID-19.

Both vaccinated and unvaccinated New Yorkers need to keep masks on:

• In schools
• On public transportation like the subway
• Health care settings like hospitals
• Congregate settings like nursing homes
• In City government workplaces

Businesses can choose to require masks for all customers.

If you are unvaccinated, you should also continue to wear a face covering and practice physical distancing when in a public indoor space, when outdoors in crowded areas and when attending gatherings with unvaccinated people. 

Vaccines are an important tool in preventing COVID-19, however even after you are vaccinated, you should still wash your hands regularly and stay home if you are sick or test positive for COVID-19.

Note that:

• Wearing a face covering prevents you from unintentionally spreading COVID-19 to other people.
• Wearing a face covering does not make you invincible. It is mainly about protecting other people from possible spread.

Get answers to frequently asked questions about face coverings.

Learn more about the benefits of vaccination.

Choosing a Face Covering

• Use a face covering with two or three layers of material to better prevent unfiltered air from passing through.
• Use face coverings made of tightly woven fabric (fabrics that do not let light pass through when held up to a light source). Face coverings should be made of breathable fabric (like cotton), and not of leather, plastic, or other materials that make it hard to breathe.
• Don't use a face covering with an exhalation valve as it allows unfiltered exhaled air to escape.
• Don't use health care worker masks such as N95 masks. N95 respirators should be used in health care settings. The limited supply of these masks must be preserved for frontline health care workers.

For New Yorkers at greater risk, the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) recommends two masks or even considering higher-grade masks, such as a KN95 mask, which is similar in design and function to N95 masks used by healthcare workers.

This includes those who are:

• 65 or older
• Have an underlying medical condition that increases the risk of severe COVID-19
• People who care for someone who is sick
• People who are in prolonged close contact with non-household members while indoors (such as people who regularly work in-person with the members of the public)

Wearing a Face Covering

Make sure the face covering fits snugly against the sides of the face and fully covers both the nose and mouth, without slipping. Face coverings that fit loosely allow respiratory droplets to enter and leak out.

Tips to help you ensure a snug fit:

• Wear a cloth face covering over a disposable mask.
• Wear a face covering with a nose wire.
• Wear a face mask fitter or brace.
• Knot the ear loops and fold or tuck extra material.

Consider wearing two face coverings. Two face coverings may better protect you and others by adding layers and helping ensure a snug fit. If you decide to wear two face coverings, wear a cloth face covering over a disposable mask. Do not wear two disposable masks or a face covering over a higher-grade mask like a KN95.

Face Covering Care

Cloth face coverings should be washed once a day by hand or machine using detergent. Wear only when dry.

Paper face coverings are reusable until they become damaged, dirty, or wet.

Face Covering Complaints

To report a lack of social distancing or face coverings, visit the Social Distancing or Face Covering Complaint page.

Posters

You can get posters displaying reminders of the need to wear a face covering when outside the home.

Go to the Health and Mental Hygiene Literature page to get free copies of these materials by mail or to download them online.

Symptoms

People with COVID-19 have reported a wide range of symptoms, ranging from mild symptoms to severe illness. Some people do not have any symptoms. Most people will have mild to moderate symptoms and recover on their own.

Symptoms may appear two to 14 days after exposure to the virus and can include:

• Fever
• Chills
• Cough
• Shortness of breath (trouble breathing)
• Fatigue
• Muscle or body aches
• Headache
• New loss of taste or smell
• Sore throat
• Congestion or runny nose
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Diarrhea

Older adults may show confusion or disorientation and experience falls.

This list does not include all possible symptoms.

If you have any of these symptoms and they are not due to a preexisting health condition like asthma or emphysema, you may have COVID-19 and you must stay home.

If you have symptoms of COVID-19, you should get a diagnostic test now – regardless of age, chronic conditions, or occupation – and then stay home.

Chronic Health Risks

People who are at most risk for severe illness are those who have health conditions including:

• Chronic lung disease
• Heart disease
• Diabetes
• Cancer
• A weakened immune system
• Moderate to severe asthma
• Obesity
• Kidney disease
• Liver disease

An infection can result in death, but that is a rare outcome.

Close contact for exposure is defined as either:

• Being within approximately 6 feet of a person with coronavirus for a prolonged period. For example, sitting within 6 feet of the patient in a healthcare waiting area.
• Having direct contact with bodily fluids of someone infected. For example, being coughed on or touching used tissues with a bare hand.

Diagnostic Testing

COVID-19 diagnostic tests are used to determine if you currently have COVID-19. Diagnostic tests don't test for immunity or tell you if you had the virus in the past.

If you were sick and have now recovered and want to be tested, you should take an antibody test instead.

To learn more about the COVID-19 diagnostic test or to find a testing site, go to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Diagnostic Testing page.

Antibody Testing

COVID-19 antibody tests are used to determine if you've had COVID-19 in the past.

These tests can't be used to determine whether you are currently infected with COVID-19. If you are currently sick, you should get a diagnostic test instead.

To learn more about the COVID-19 antibody test, including testing sites, go to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Antibody Testing page.

Test and Trace Corps

Test and Trace Corps is a program run by the City of New York through Health + Hospitals and in collaboration with DOHMH, DOITT, TLC, and many more.

The Corps helps New Yorkers receive free and easy testing for COVID-19 and ensures that anyone with the virus receives care and can safely isolate to prevent the spread. A specialized group of Contact Tracers has been created to provide resources and support.

If you test positive for COVID-19, you'll receive a call from a Contact Tracer within 24 hours.

The Tracer will:

• Ask about your symptoms
• Determine if you need more medical attention
• Create a list of everyone you had contact with since shortly before the onset of symptoms
• Help you isolate at home or at a free hotel
• Give you instructions on how to safely separate for up to 14 days

Contact Tracers will also call those who were in close contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19 to help them get tested and connect them with any services they might need.

Online

Learn more about Contact Tracing.

By Phone

If you do not receive a call from a Contact Tracer within 24 hours of testing positive, you can contact MedRite. They are a healthcare provider hired by NYC Test & Trace to provide at-home COVID-19 testing services.

If your symptoms are mild, you should stay home and monitor your condition.

Call your doctor if you have any of the following symptoms and they do not improve in 3 to 4 days:

• Fever
• Cough
• Sore throat
• Shortness of breath
• Cold or flu-like symptoms

You should try to contact your health care provider by phone rather than going to them in person.

If you can't get in contact with or don't have a health care provider, you can speak with a NYC Health + Hospitals clinician.

Fully vaccinated people no longer need to quarantine after exposure to someone with COVID-19, as long as they do not have symptoms. They also no longer need to get tested for COVID-19, unless they have symptoms of COVID-19 or testing is required for work, school, or a specific activity.

While at home, you should monitor your health. Self-monitoring means you check yourself for fever and remain alert for COVID-19 symptoms which include fever, cough, shortness of breath, and sore throat.

You can leave your home when all of the following is true:

• It has been seven days after your symptoms started.
• You have not had a fever for three days without the use of fever-reducing drugs.
• Your cough or sore throat symptoms have improved.

Learn about the best practices for quarantine from the Centers for Disease Control.

Learn about the best practices for self-isolation from the Centers for Disease Control.

COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations are increasing rapidly in New York City. Adults over 65 and people with underlying health conditions that put them at increased risk of severe COVID-19, and household members and caregivers of these people should:

• Get a Coronavirus (COVID-19) Vaccine
• Limit activities outside your home, except leaving home to travel to work or school, or for essential purposes including medical care, grocery shopping or pharmacy necessities
• Avoid public spaces and gatherings
• Stay home if sick except for medical care, including testing for COVID-19
• Wear a face covering at all times indoors and outdoors, including when around members of their own household who have been exposed to COVID-19, are showing symptoms of the virus or frequently interact with the public

Underlying health conditions that can make COVID-19 more severe include:

• Chronic lung disease
• Heart disease
• Diabetes
• Cancer
• A weakened immune system
• Moderate to severe asthma
• Obesity
• Kidney disease
• Liver disease

Read the advisory for those at higher risk of severe COVID-19.

Multi-System Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C)

Multi-System Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C) is a health condition that has appeared in children in New York City. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has now confirmed there is a link to COVID-19.

Early diagnosis and treatment are critical to preventing long-term complications from MIS-C.

Most children have a fever lasting several days, along with other symptoms.

Common symptoms include:

• Irritability or sluggishness
• Abdominal pain without another explanation
• Diarrhea
• Vomiting
• Rash
• Conjunctivitis, or red or pink eyes
• Enlarged gland on one side of the neck
• Red, cracked lips or red tongue that looks like a strawberry
• Swollen hands and feet, which might also be red

If your child becomes ill and has had a continued fever, call your doctor immediately.

If you do not have a doctor, go to the Find a Doctor page to speak to an NYC Health + Hospitals clinician.

Pregnancy, Newborns, and Breastfeeding

You can get information about the effects of COVID-19 on pregnancy, newborn babies, and breastfeeding.

Online

Get the "Guidance for People Who Are Pregnant, Breastfeeding or Caring for Newborns" sheet.

By Phone

Businesses

If you're a business owner, visit the Coronavirus (COVID-19) and Businesses page to learn about:

• What you need to know as you prepare to reopen your business
• How to comply with mandatory health and safety guidelines
• Protecting your employees and customers
• Financial resources and supplies

Workers

If you're a worker, visit the Coronavirus (COVID-19) and Workers page to learn about:

• What you need to know about businesses reopening
• Workers' rights and workplace rules
• Health and safety guidelines
• Documentation needed to return to work
• Financial resources and essential worker benefits

Transmission from Animals

At this time there is no evidence that companion animals, including pets, play a significant role in spreading COVID-19. The virus that causes COVID-19 appears to be transmitted exclusively from person to person.

Transmission to Animals

The CDC is aware of a small number of pets becoming sick with COVID-19, including both cats and dogs. Only a few of the animals who tested positive showed signs of illness, mostly after close contact with people with COVID-19. Until more is known about transmission, the CDC recommends that people with symptoms restrict contact with their pets.

If you are sick, restrict contact with your pets and have another member of your household care for your animals.

You should have a plan to keep your pets safe if you have a medical emergency and are unable to care for them.

Learn more about COVID-19 and animals.

Learn how to create a pet emergency plan.