Fall isn’t just back-to-school season. It’s vaccine season.
Updated shots to protect against flu and COVID-19 and a new RSV vaccine are now available at a pharmacy near you.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends everyone 6 months and older be vaccinated against influenza and COVID-19 each year, says Dan Uslan, MD, chief infection prevention officer at UCLA Health.
And now is a good time, he says. Not only has COVID-19 been circulating in Southern California this summer, but flu season, which generally runs from late fall to early spring, is about to begin.
What’s new with flu and COVID-19 shots this year?
Flu shots are updated every year to match circulating strains, Dr. Uslan says.
“The World Health Organization has gotten very, very skilled at predicting what flu viruses are anticipated to circulate in the coming season, based on the surveillance that they do” in the Southern Hemisphere, he says. Cases of flu were reduced during the COVID-19 pandemic because of social distancing and masking practices, but flu activity in the Southern Hemisphere this year was similar to last year and pre-pandemic levels, the CDC reports.
The World Health Organization works with the CDC and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to develop recommendations for vaccine manufacturers to best protect against likely strains.
This year’s flu vaccine is trivalent, which means it protects against three strains of flu. In past years, the flu vaccine protected against four strains, but one of those strains seems to have disappeared, Dr. Uslan says.
“Essentially, it’s no longer been circulating since March 2020, so there’s really no benefit in including that extra strain if it’s not protecting against anything,” he says.
The flu vaccine protects against severe illness. Last year, there were more than 35 million cases of flu, 400,000 hospitalizations and 25,000 deaths in the U.S., according to the CDC.
“At particular risk are elderly patients, especially those living with comorbid conditions, and the very young, who often don’t have well-developed immune systems yet,” Dr. Uslan says.
COVID-19 vaccines have also been updated this year. The virus continues mutating, as is expected, so the new shots are formulated to target the KP.2 strain, which started circulating in the spring.
The CDC now recommends annual vaccination against COVID-19, regardless of how many shots or boosters an individual has had previously, Dr. Uslan says.
More than 48,000 people in the U.S. died of COVID-19 in 2023, according to the CDC, with the highest mortality rates among people 65 and older.
Who should get vaccinated and when?
Everyone 6 months and older should be vaccinated against both influenza and COVID-19, Dr. Uslan says, and both shots can be administered at the same time.
However, there are some nuances to the CDC’s recommendations. People between the ages of 6 months and 8 years may need two doses of flu vaccine, for example, and people 65 and older should receive a high-dose flu vaccine. Studies show people in this age group don’t mount as strong an immune response to the standard flu vaccine, Dr. Uslan says, but the high-dose vaccine triggers a more robust response.
The CDC is also advising that people who have received a solid-organ transplant and are taking immunosuppressant drugs receive a high-dose flu vaccine, which is a new recommendation this year.
It’s wise to get the flu shot before the end of October, Dr. Uslan says, for protection throughout flu season.
People can receive the new COVID-19 shot as soon as they’re available – unless they’ve been recently infected with the virus, in which case they should wait three months before getting vaccinated.
“For those who were infected this summer, I would recommend waiting, as they’ve already had a boost to their immune system from the current go-round,” Dr. Uslan says. “But if they have not had COVID this past year, I would recommend getting the COVID vaccine sooner rather than later, given that it is circulating in L.A. County right now at high levels.”
Getting vaccinated also reduces the risk of Long COVID, he adds.
What about RSV?
People 75 and older should also be vaccinated against RSV, or respiratory syncytial virus. There are three RSV vaccines available, including a new one by Moderna that uses the same messenger-RNA platform as its COVID-19 vaccine.
People ages 60 to 75 should talk to their doctor to see if the RSV vaccine is recommended for them, Dr. Uslan says.
Those who need an RSV shot can get it at the same time as their COVID-19 and flu vaccines, so one visit to the clinic is all that’s necessary for protection against all three illnesses.
Learn more about the COVID-19 vaccine
