The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shared its yearly flu shot recommendations on Wednesday, urging older adults to get the vaccine.

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommends that adults over the age of 65 preferentially receive any one of the following higher dose or adjuvanted influenza vaccines: 

  • quadrivalent high-dose inactivated influenza vaccine (HD-IIV4)
  • quadrivalent recombinant influenza vaccine (RIV4)
  • or quadrivalent adjuvanted inactivated influenza vaccine (aIIV4).

But if any of those aren’t available, another age-appropriate influenza vaccine should be used, the CDC said.

Everyone over the age of 6 months old should get a flu shot every year, for the most part. If you have a history of allergic reactions, are pregnant, are considered immunocompromised, or have asthma, check with your doctor.

Last season, people who received the flu vaccine were 40% to 70% less likely to be hospitalized from the flu or complications of it, the CDC said.

September and October are the best times to get vaccinated for the flu, the CDC says. Waiting past October is OK because some areas may not get the flu until February, March or into the spring. The ideal time for a shot can change because the peak of flu season can shift as time goes on, according to the CDC.

During the last two flu seasons, people often got flu and COVID-19 shots together; that’s safe, the CDC says. In May, the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine was introduced for people over 60.

RSV, COVID and flu shots 

The CDC hasn’t made recommendations on whether or not people should get their RSV shot at the same time as they get their flu shot. Some experts say doing all three at the same time could lessen effectiveness, NBC News reports. The CDC says it is acceptable to get an RSV shot at the same time as flu and COVID shots, but there’s no evidence on how the RSV shot could interact with the COVID shot, The Washington Post reports.

The CDC doesn’t recommend that everyone over 60 get the RSV shot, and older adults should talk to their doctors. Some people with underlying health issues such as heart or lung disease, or who are immunocompromised, have a higher risk for RSV. But clinical trials showed some rare, though severe, side effects, The Washington Post reports. Another new development for this year: People with egg allergies can get flu shots. Flu shots are usually made to contain egg protein. That’s why people with egg allergies had to get vaccinated while supervised in a healthcare setting in case they had a reaction. But that’s no longer the case, the CDC said Wednesday.