Vaccine updates available for fall. What's circulating this year

Key Points:

• Health experts advise getting annual fall flu and updated COVID-19 vaccines to protect against the latest strains, recommending flu shots by late October and COVID vaccines for eligible groups, especially older adults and those with chronic conditions.
• The FDA has approved updated flu vaccines targeting the influenza A (H3N2) subclade K virus and authorized a new mRNA flu shot, mFLUSIVA, for people aged 50 and older.
• Three updated COVID-19 vaccines from Moderna, Novavax-Sanofi, and Pfizer-BioNTech are approved to protect against the highly transmissible JN.1 lineage XFG subvariant, with specific recommendations based on age and underlying health conditions.
• Flu season in the U.S. typically runs from October to May, peaking between December and February, and the CDC recommends flu vaccination for everyone six months and older, especially high-risk groups like seniors, young children, pregnant women, and those with chronic illnesses.
• Flu and COVID-19 share similar symptoms but differ in causative viruses, incubation periods, and potential severity; vaccinations for both are widely available at pharmacies, doctor’s offices, and health departments, often at little or no cost with insurance.