A Seasonal Vaccine Guide
Major U.S. medical organizations—The American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), CDC, and the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA)—have updated their seasonal respiratory immunization recommendations for the 2026–2027 season.
We’ll outline some information below, but if you have questions about your specific circumstances, we ask our patients to call the Rivanna Concierge Physicians office. For your convenience, all vaccines can be safely co-administered during a single pharmacy visit.
Influenza Vaccines
For seasonal influenza, annual vaccination is universally recommended for everyone aged 6 months and older. We recommend receiving this in the middle of October, unless you plan overseas travel. In that case, get vaccinated 2 weeks prior to departure.
For adults aged 65 and older, we recommend you receive one of the more potent options for your age group: Flublok, Fluad, or Fluzone. Alternatively, you can take the newly approved mRNA-based flu vaccine called mFluvisa, approved for those over age 50. Though it wasn’t tested head-to-head with the “over 65” options, it performed better than the standard dose flu vaccines. It was associated with more side effects like injection site pain, tiredness, headache, and muscle aches.
Nasally-administered FluMist is available for those aged 2 to 49 who do not have certain medical problems and are not pregnant. Pregnant individuals should receive an inactivated or recombinant flu vaccine during any trimester.
COVID Vaccines
For those continuing vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 (COVID), there should be updated vaccines available for Fall administration shortly. Vaccination continues to lower the risk of severe illness from the virus. The Moderna and Pfizer vaccines are available along with a non-mRNA option from Novavax.
RSV Vaccines
RSV is a common winter respiratory virus that can lead to more severe illness with advancing age. Vaccines were first released in 2023 and immunization is recommended for all adults aged 75 and older. This vaccine does carry an increased (though still very small) risk of Guillain-Barré syndrome, which is why administration is delayed unless individuals are at an elevated risk of severe disease due to underlying chronic conditions. We favor the Arexvy version from GlaxoSmithKline.
Please call if you have questions.
