Fall vaccination season is approaching; here’s what’s available for COVID, flu and RSV
Fall is around the corner, and so are the illnesses that accompany it.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention expects three bugs to circulate: COVID-19, influenza, and RSV.
An updated version of the COVID-19 vaccine, along with a flu vaccine and a new tool to prevent RSV, will be rolled out in coming months.
Spread of all three respiratory viruses is currently low, and the CDC is reporting slight increases in positive COVID tests and COVID-related emergency department visits.
COVID cases remain modest at Washington Health System and Allegheny Health Network (with five or fewer COVID patients at WHS per day and 27 patients across all AHN hospitals), but Penn Highlands Healthcare has seen an uptick in COVID-19 hospitalizations for three consecutive weeks.
“Summer travel certainly is impacting the numbers, as well as the EG.5 variant, which contains a mutation known to confer immune escape,” said Dr. Trina Abla, CMO at Penn Highlands Healthcare.
But hospital admissions remain far below the peak levels, and severe cases and deaths are rare compared to earlier in the pandemic, PHH said.
The majority of COVID-19 admissions at Penn Highlands Healthcare are elderly patients and those with pre-existing conditions.
“People in high-risk groups should consider wearing a mask in crowded indoor settings and remain up-to-date with their vaccinations, including a booster in the fall when it becomes available,” said Abla.
The newest booster shot will eventually supersede the 2022 version. That booster was designed against the BA.5 and BA.4 sublineages of the Omicron variant.
The 2023 version of the COVID-19 vaccine also will be designed against the latest dominant Omicron subvariant, XBB.1.
The booster could be available in September or October.
Vaccines also will be available for the flu and, for the first time, RSV (respiratory syncytial virus).
The annual flu vaccine is recommended for everyone 6 months and older, but it is most important for adults ages 65 and older, children under 5 and people with weak immune systems.
“An annual flu shot for everyone six months and older remains a recommendation because it has shown to be a successful way to minimize deaths and illness,” said Dr. Amy Crawford-Faucher, a primary care physician at Allegheny Health Network.
The CDC last week gave the go-ahead to a new immunization to protect against RSV, which can cause severe illness and death in older adults and children.
The monoclonal antibody called Beyfortus, or nirsevimab, will be available for adults 60 and older and for infants younger than 8 months old, born during – or entering – their first RSV season.
Nirsevimab has been shown to reduce the risk of both hospitalizations and health-care visits for RSV in infants by about 80%.
For a small group of children between the ages of 8 and 19 months who are at increased risk of severe RSV disease, such as children who are severely immunocompromised, a dose is recommended in their second season.
Crawford-Faucher advises that it’s OK to get the flu shot and COVID booster at the same time, and recommends talking with your doctor about the RSV shot.