What to know
- Flu, COVID-19, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) cause most hospitalizations from respiratory illness during fall and winter season.
- Staying up to date with immunizations helps protect you from severe illness.
- September and October are good times to get vaccinated, but you can still get vaccinated later in the year if you haven’t received your vaccines.
Summary
What CDC knows
Flu, COVID-19, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) spread more commonly during fall and winter months. Staying up to date with your recommended vaccines reduces the risk of severe disease, hospitalization, and death.
What CDC is doing
CDC recommends flu and COVID-19 vaccination for everyone ages 6 months and older (and RSV immunization for certain groups). Earlier this year, CDC updated its respiratory virus guidance to provide practical recommendations to help people lower their risk from flu, COVID-19, and RSV.
Make a plan to get your recommended vaccines
Flu, COVID-19, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) cause most hospitalizations due to respiratory illness during fall and winter. With fall arriving, it's time to plan to get your recommended vaccines. Staying up to date with vaccines against flu and COVID-19 (and RSV immunization, if recommended for you) protects you from severe disease, hospitalization, and death.
Here we answer commonly asked questions about flu, COVID-19, and RSV vaccines.
Why get vaccinated this fall and winter season?
Flu, COVID-19, and RSV still have the potential to take a heavy toll across the United States. During a six-month period last fall and winter, these infections caused over 800,000 hospitalizations.
Vaccination helps reduce the risk of serious illness and death. While you may still get sick if you are vaccinated, you are less likely to be hospitalized or die from these respiratory illnesses. Often, people hospitalized due to these illnesses have not been vaccinated.
How do I know if I'm at higher risk of serious illness?
Adults 65 years and older, young children, residents of long-term care facilities, pregnant people, and people with certain long-term health conditions are at increased risk of serious illness from respiratory viruses. Some racial and ethnic groups, like Black and Hispanic people, may be at increased risk for severe outcomes from respiratory viruses due to health disparities. This is due to social determinants of health or the environments where these groups may live, learn, work, and play. Additionally, research suggests some American Indian and Alaska Native infants and young children are at a high risk of severe RSV disease.
Which vaccines for respiratory illnesses are recommended for me?
CDC recommends the updated 2024-2025 COVID-19 vaccine for everyone 6 months and older. This includes people who have received a COVID-19 vaccine before and people who have had COVID-19. It is especially important for the following groups to get the 2024–2025 COVID-19 vaccine:
- People ages 65 years and older
- People with underlying medical conditions, including immunocompromise
- People living in long-term care facilities
- People who are pregnant, breastfeeding, or might become pregnant in the future to protect themselves and their infants
An annual flu vaccine, which protects against the three influenza viruses expected to spread this season, is recommended for everyone 6 months and older. If you are at higher risk of developing serious flu complications, flu vaccination is especially important. By getting a flu vaccine you reduce your risk of getting sick with flu, being hospitalized or dying from flu. A flu shot during pregnancy can also protect both a pregnant person and baby for about 6 months after birth. And people with a history of heart disease who got the flu shot are less likely to have a serious cardiac outcome than those who haven't gotten a flu shot.
The recommendations for RSV are a bit different since immunization is only recommended for the very young and older adults, which are the populations most likely to develop severe RSV. CDC recommends protecting babies younger than 8 months against severe RSV in one of two ways: through vaccination of a pregnant person (with Pfizer's Abrysvo) at weeks 32-36 of pregnancy or by the baby getting the antibody nirsevimab at birth or just before the RSV season. Nirsevimab is also recommended for some younger children between ages 8 and 19 months who are at increased risk for RSV disease.
CDC recommends a single dose of the RSV vaccine for all adults ages 75 and older and for adults ages 60 to 74 who are at increased risk of severe RSV disease. If you received an RSV vaccine last year, you do not need another vaccine.
Why get an updated COVID-19 vaccine?
Vaccine protection and immunity from SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, decreases over time. COVID-19 vaccines are updated to give you protection against the currently circulating viruses. The virus that causes COVID-19 is constantly evolving, with new variants appearing all the time. The 2024-2025 COVID-19 vaccines are updated to better protect against currently circulating variants.
Are the vaccines available right now?
Flu, COVID-19, and RSV vaccines are available now. The RSV immunization for infants, called nirsevimab, will become available starting October 1. Availability of these immunizations will continue to increase in the coming weeks.
When is the best time to get my vaccines?
Respiratory virus season often starts in October and peaks between December and March. Getting your updated vaccines in the fall can help provide protection through the fall and winter seasons. Still, respiratory viruses can make people sick any time of the year, so you can get your updated 2024-2025 vaccine at any time if you haven't received it yet.
Where can I get my vaccines?
There are a few ways you can get your recommended vaccines.
- Ask your healthcare provider, pharmacist, or visit their website.
- Contact public health clinics, Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC), and Rural Health Clinics (RHC).
- Vaccines.gov can help you find a pharmacy near you that has the flu, COVID-19, and RSV vaccines.
How can I get COVID-19 vaccines at no cost to me?
If you have health insurance, you can get the updated COVID-19 vaccine at little or no cost to you.
Thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act, people with Medicare drug coverage pay nothing out-of-pocket for adult vaccines recommended by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). Additionally, most adults enrolled in Medicaid will be guaranteed coverage of ACIP-recommended vaccines at no cost to them.
Eligible children 18 years and younger can get free vaccines through Vaccines for Children. The eligibility requirements for this program are listed here. For this season, immunization programs in each jurisdiction received additional funds to purchase COVID-19 vaccines for under- and uninsured adults. Contact your state or local health department to find out more about getting a free vaccine.
Can I get all my recommended vaccines during the same visit?
Flu, COVID-19, and RSV vaccines may be given at the same visit. This means that if you're only able to make one trip to get your fall and winter vaccines, you can get all those vaccines recommended for you at once. If you prefer to receive each vaccine at a separate visit, there is no minimum waiting period between vaccines. You should get vaccinated as quickly as possible to make sure you are up to date and protected from severe illness this season.
You might also be due for other vaccines, like those to prevent pneumococcal disease, shingles, or whooping cough. While there are some exceptions, most vaccines can be given at the same visit.
Talk with a healthcare provider or pharmacist if you have questions about these vaccines.
What else can I do to protect myself this respiratory virus season?
Staying home when sick, practicing good hygiene, and taking steps for cleaner air are some actions you can do to protect yourself this fall and winter. Additional strategies include masking, maintaining physical distance, and testing. Check out the CDC's updated respiratory virus guidance.