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Getting your updated 2025-26 COVID-19 and flu vaccines soon can help protect you from serious illness this fall and winter. Photo: Getty Images.<\/p>\n \tGetting your updated 2025-26 COVID-19 and flu vaccines soon can help protect you from serious illness this fall and winter. Photo: Getty Images.<\/p>\n
The new 2025-2026 COVID-19 vaccines will fight the newest COVID-19 variants.<\/p>\n
Vaccine makers also update flu shots every year to protect people from the flu strains that are most likely to surface this fall and winter.<\/p>\n
The opportunity to protect yourself from the newest respiratory virus variants is one of many reasons you\u2019ll want to get both your COVID-19 and flu vaccines this fall.<\/p>\n
You can get both shots at the same time, and the exact timing doesn\u2019t matter, according to infectious disease expert<\/a>, Dr. Michelle Barron.<\/p>\n Just plan to get the updated 2025-2026 COVID-19 and flu vaccines sometime in the next couple of months if you want to avoid getting severely ill this fall or winter from COVID-19 or the flu and ending up in the hospital.<\/p>\n Barron<\/a> is UCHealth\u2019s senior medical director for infection control and prevention and\u00a0is also a\u00a0professor of medicine and infectious diseases<\/a>\u00a0at the\u00a0University of Colorado School of Medicine<\/a>\u00a0on the\u00a0Anschutz Medical Campus<\/a>.<\/p>\n To help answer some of your top questions, we asked Barron all about the 2025-2026 COVID-19 and flu vaccines.<\/p>\n Misinformation about vaccines is on the rise, but don\u2019t let that stop you from protecting yourself<\/strong><\/p>\n You\u2019ve probably been hearing many controversial opinions about vaccines this year. Misinformation is on the rise, and federal health leaders removed every member of a trusted committee of experts<\/a> that used to provide key advice and updates about vaccines.<\/p>\n Barron advises her patients to ignore political discussions in Washington, D.C. and instead focus on the simple goal of protecting themselves and their loved ones.<\/p>\n Barron \u2013 and your own doctor \u2013 want you to stay as healthy as possible now that we\u2019re in the middle of the back-to-school season and will soon be heading into the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays.<\/p>\n Vaccines are safe and effective. They work very well in protecting people from severe illness, hospitalization and death, Barron said.<\/p>\n She\u2019s concerned that many people might skip getting their annual flu and COVID-19 vaccines simply because they are confused.<\/p>\n \u201cSkepticism about vaccines is at an all-time high. So, it\u2019s really important to be clear: everyone should get a flu shot,\u201d Barron said.<\/p>\n She also strongly recommends COVID-19 vaccines, especially for people who are at higher risk of getting severely ill if they get COVID-19. That includes older people, immunocompromised people and pregnant women.<\/p>\n \u201cData show that the people who benefit most from a COVID-19 vaccine are those who are older and those who have underlying medical conditions, like asthma, COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease), hematologic malignancy (cancers that affect the blood, bone marrow and lymph and lymphatic systems) or people who are on medications that suppress your immune system,\u201d Barron said.<\/p>\n Vaccines also are essential for people like health care workers who are at higher risk for exposure to respiratory illnesses, including flu and COVID-19.<\/p>\n And Barron advises people to get vaccines so they can avoid severe illnesses, including long COVID.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a good idea to get a COVID shot because you can still get complications, and you can still end up in the hospital. If you get the vaccine, you\u2019ll be decreasing that risk. Does a vaccine mean that you\u2019re never going to get COVID or the flu? No. But it means you\u2019re more likely to stay healthy,\u201d Barron said.<\/p>\n \u201cYou get to go to work. You get to go to concerts. You get to do all of your fun stuff because you\u2019re not sick at home in bed,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Who is at the greatest risk of getting severely ill and dying of the flu?<\/strong><\/p>\n When it comes to flu, Barron said the people who are most at risk and absolutely need flu shots are \u201cthe very old and the very young.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBabies under a year of age and older adults who are 65 and older are much more likely to end up hospitalized or with a complication, including death,\u201d Barron said.<\/p>\n People who are immunocompromised or who are caregivers or spend a lot of time with people who are immunocompromised should also be sure to get flu shots.<\/p>\n Should <\/strong>pregnant women <\/strong>get flu and COVID-19 vaccines?<\/strong><\/p>\n Yes. Pregnant women should definitely get both flu and COVID-19 vaccines, Barron said.<\/p>\n Her advice has nothing to do with politics. Barron said that doctors and researchers have known for decades that pregnant women are more vulnerable to getting severely ill if they get respiratory illnesses like the flu and COVID-19. Pregnant women can suffer and can also jeopardize the health of their baby.<\/p>\n \u201cJust like flu, complications from COVID-19 during pregnancy can lead to early birth, premature birth and complications for the mother,\u201d Barron said. \u201cThere is some anxiety about getting vaccines during pregnancy, and there shouldn\u2019t be.<\/p>\n \u201cThese vaccines have been very well studied during pregnancy, and there haven\u2019t been any issues,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n While vaccines are safe in pregnancy, getting a bad case of the flu or COVID-19 can be very dangerous and even deadly during pregnancy. (Read about a woman who nearly died when she got COVID-19 while she was pregnant<\/a>.)<\/p>\n There is conflicting advice about kids and COVID-19 vaccines. Should children get the 2025-2026 COVID-19 vaccine? <\/strong><\/p>\n Health experts at the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) have issued new guidance<\/a> \u00a0and strongly recommend the COVID-19 vaccine for infants and babies ages 6-months to 23-months.<\/p>\n The AAP pediatric experts said infants and babies are at high risk for suffering severe complications if they get sick with COVID-19.<\/p>\n Older children who are immunocompromised should also get their COVID-19 vaccines as should children who are at high risk for severe illness if they get COVID-19, those who live in long-term care facilities, children who have never received a COVID-19 vaccine or kids who live in homes where other family members are at high risk if they get COVID-19.<\/p>\n AAP experts also stated that any parents who wish to protect their children from COVID-19 should be able to get the new 2025-2026 vaccine for their children. (Read the AAP\u2019s policy statement<\/a> regarding the 2025-2026 COVID-19 vaccines for children.)<\/p>\n Will my health insurance cover the cost of my COVID-19 and flu shots this year?<\/strong><\/p>\n It\u2019s wise to check with your employer or your health insurance provider regarding the cost of vaccines. In past years, health insurance companies were required to pay for the cost of vaccines that medical experts at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had approved. This year, with health policy changes in Washington, D.C., some health insurance plans may no longer cover the full cost of vaccines. Some may require co-pays. Many employers, however, will continue to cover vaccines since they want their employees to stay healthy. Health insurance plans should cover the cost of flu vaccines.<\/p>\n Which COVID-19 variants are circulating now?<\/strong><\/p>\n The dominant variants that are causing COVID-19 infections now are descendants of the omicron variant, which surfaced back in late 2021<\/a> and has been dominant ever since. Back in late 2023, a particular omicron descendant called JN.1 took over and started causing most COVID-19 infections in the U.S.<\/p>\n The current JN.1 sub-strain of the virus, which is causing the most infections now<\/a>, is called NB.1.81. Researchers estimate that this strain is causing about 43% of current COVID-19 infections. Another common JN.1 sub strain that has been circulating in recent months has been the LP.8.1 variant, which is causing about 31% of cases.<\/p>\n Will the new 2025-2026 COVID-19 vaccine fight the newest variants?<\/strong><\/p>\n Yes, vaccine makers have tailored the newest vaccines to fight the newest JN.1 variants, Barron said. Health advisors for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration voted in May to authorize a new formula for the 2025-2026 COVID-19 vaccine.<\/a><\/p>\n Is that also true for flu shots? Do vaccine makers change the shots every year?<\/strong><\/p>\n Yes, vaccine makers create new versions of flu shots each year. Researchers and vaccine makers study flu outbreaks that take place each year in the southern hemisphere, months before the flu season starts in the U.S. and elsewhere in the northern hemisphere. Researchers and vaccine experts then create annual flu shots based on the variants that they anticipate will become dominant months later.<\/p>\n When does the typical flu season start and end?<\/strong><\/p>\n The typical flu season in the U.S. lasts from October through May, but each year is different. We don\u2019t know yet whether cases of the flu will begin spiking relatively early in the fall or whether they\u2019ll increase closer to Thanksgiving or Christmas, Barron said.<\/p>\n That\u2019s why you shouldn\u2019t worry about the perfect timing for getting your flu shot. Your immunities will last for several months, and you want to be protected in case flu infections start to rise early.<\/p>\n Barron advises people to simply get their vaccines when it\u2019s most convenient.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s no magic in getting it early or getting it late. We can\u2019t predict the future. So, the best time to get your shots is when it\u2019s convenient. If you have five minutes, go get your shots. It\u2019s really about getting it done and getting it off of your to-do list,\u201d Barron said.<\/p>\n