CDC Recommends RSV Vaccination for Older Adults Who Have Not Received It

While adults who have already received the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine do not appear to need another this fall, those have not yet received it are advised to do so if they are 75 years and older or if they are 60 years and older and at increased risk of severe disease because of having a chronic condition or living in a nursing home, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidance published by the American Heart Association (AHA).

Adults who have received the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine do not appear to need another this fall, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidance published by the American Heart Association. However, CDC does recommend the vaccine for those who have not yet received it, are 75 years and older, or are 60 years and older and at increased risk of severe disease due to a chronic condition or residence in a nursing home,

Manisha Patel, MD, chief medical officer for the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, told the  AHA that the RSV vaccine has not changed since last year and studies are currently investigating how long protection lasts.

“But at this point,” she said, “we do not have the data to suggest that revaccination is needed right now.”

That is not the case with vaccines for COVID-19 and flu. Because both are updated yearly to reflect new variants, neglecting revaccination leaves people unprotected against circulating strains of  these infections. The CDC recommends both COVID-19 and flu vaccination annually for everyone, with the exception of babies younger than 6 months old and other rare exceptions.

According to the article, the 2024-2025 COVID-19 vaccines are expected in September or October and can be administered simultaneously with the flu vaccine. Protection from each generally peaks in the weeks following vaccination and then wanes slowly, lasting for 5 months or longer.

“We time the release of the vaccines to make sure people are getting optimum protection,” Dr Patel told the American Heart Association.

The article pointed out that the goal of any vaccine is to reduce disease severity in the case of infection and not to completely prevent infection from a virus.

Reference

Williamson L. COVID, flu and RSV: What to know about who should get vaccinated and when. American Heart Association News. August 2, 2024. Accessed August 6, 2024.