Fall vaccines guide: Who needs Covid, flu and RSV shots
Leading U.S. medical groups say most people should get updated vaccines against flu, Covid and RSV this fall, even without a full CDC campaign. Their evidence reviews find the shots still cut hospitalizations and deaths, especially for older adults, infants and pregnant people.
Key Takeaways
- Major physician groups issued 2026–2027 guidance for flu, Covid and RSV vaccines after federal messaging stalled.
- Reviews published with the American Medical Association find meaningful drops in severe outcomes for high-risk groups.
- Guidance generally backs annual flu and Covid shots for most people; RSV targeting is narrower.
- Access questions remain, including whether federal programs will keep covering recommended childhood shots.
As respiratory season nears, the usual Centers for Disease Control and Prevention push for fall vaccines has been muted. In that gap, leaders from groups including the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the Infectious Diseases Society of America urged Americans to get immunized.
Their advice was informed by a joint evidence review with the University of Minnesota’s Vaccine Integrity Project, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. For more coverage across science and health tech, see Future Tech & AI Wonders.
Why are medical groups speaking up now?
Bruce Gellin of the Vaccine Integrity Project said the federal government is not fulfilling its historic role on vaccine guidance, but the need has not disappeared. Scientific American reported the consortium also released safety and efficacy summaries amid falling public confidence.
The Hill noted that CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices has been in legal limbo after Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. remade the panel. The CDC did update flu clinical guidance this week to match last year’s advice, but medical societies still stepped in with broader respiratory recommendations.
Who should get which vaccines this fall?
For children, the groups recommend flu vaccines for everyone six months and older. Covid vaccines are advised for ages 6 to 23 months, and for ages 2 to 18 if a child is at higher risk or a family wants the shot.
RSV shots are recommended for children 8 months and younger if their mother was not vaccinated in pregnancy, and for higher-risk children ages 8 to 19 months in a second RSV season. For adults, the groups generally recommend annual flu and Covid shots. RSV is typically a one-time shot for adults 50 to 74 at increased risk of severe disease, often timed for late summer or early fall.
Do the vaccines still make a difference?
Covid is less deadly than at the pandemic’s peak, yet the 2025–2026 U.S. season still brought an estimated 15,000 to 42,000 deaths and as many as 240,000 hospitalizations. Consortium reviews found Covid vaccines cut hospitalization risk by about 53% in adults over 65 and 58% in pregnant women, with benefits also seen for babies of vaccinated mothers.
Flu vaccines reduced hospitalization among adults over 65 by 31% and cut deaths among infants and children by 80%, according to the same research summaries. RSV shots reduced hospitalizations by up to 83% in people older than 60, while vaccination in pregnancy cut infant hospitalizations by up to 70%.
AAP president Andrew Racine warned it is unclear whether the Vaccines for Children program will cover all recommended shots going forward, even as most families still look to pediatricians for advice. The bottom line from the medical coalition: talk with a clinician and get the vaccines that match your age and risk before winter viruses surge.