This fall, something is different. The country has new vaccines for COVID, influenza and RSV, the three fall respiratory viruses that hospitalize and kill hundreds of thousands annually.
A new COVID variant is circulating. Flu season is about to begin. Respiratory syncytial virus (known as RSV) is becoming a greater cause of hospitalizations.
But this fall, something is different. The country has new vaccines for COVID, influenza and RSV, the three fall respiratory viruses that hospitalize and kill hundreds of thousands annually.
“Go get those vaccines and it will make a dramatic difference in your getting sick this winter,” Dr. Ashish Jha, former White House COVID response coordinator told NPR. “We are going to be dealing with respiratory viruses forever but we are getting better at building treatments and vaccines. No one loves getting shots but these shots are literally saving lives.”
Here’s a guide to fall vaccines, how to time them right, and where they are available.Seasonal influenza (flu)
Doctors recommend an annual flu shot before the start of the season.
What’s new this year: Each year the influenza vaccine is reformulated, but it doesn’t always match perfectly with the circulating virus. Katelyn Jetelina, founder of Your Local Epidemiologist, a viral newsletter, says she is optimistic that this year’s is a good match because the vaccine composition matches flu strains that recently circulated in Australia, which tends to be a predictor of what happens in the United States.
Who should get it: Everyone ages 6 months and older is eligible for the basic flu vaccine.
For those over 65, there is a high-dose influenza vaccine specially formulated to provide added protection to older adults. (AARP estimates that 70% to 85% of flu-related deaths and 50% to 70% of flu-related hospitalizations occur in people 65 and older.)
Bianca Perez at CVS Minute Clinic in Miramar, FL said she also administers a specially formulated flu shot for people 50 to 64. “We have all three types at the Minute Clinic but it depends on insurance. Some don’t cover this one.”
The American Academy of Pediatrics urges all children over 6 months to get vaccinated and wants to see at least 70% immunized. Last year only about 55% were vaccinated.
“We know for children under age 5, influenza is unpredictable, it can be very serious, it leads a lot of children into the hospital and unfortunately we see tragic pediatric flu deaths every year,” said Dr.
