Though people’s minds may be on vacations and summer sun, it’s not too soon to start thinking about fall vaccination plans to keep long-term and senior care residents and staff safe. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has released updated COVID-19, flu, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine recommendations to give you a head start.

Providers should begin planning now for the upcoming season, ramping up vaccine education efforts for residents, family members, and staff alike. This is particularly important, as only 31% of nursing home residents are currently up-to-date on their vaccinations. At the same time, waning vaccination rates are coupled with a recent 30% spike in COVID cases.

Among the highlights of the updated COVID-19 vaccine recommendations:

• Everyone aged 6 months and older should receive an updated 2024-2025 COVID-19 vaccine for the fall/winter respiratory virus season.
• People should receive the updated vaccine even if they have never been vaccinated with a COVID-19 vaccine before.
• The recommendations will take effect as soon as updated vaccines are available from Moderna, Novavax, and Pfizer later this year.

Among the highlights of the updated 2024-2025 flu vaccine recommendations:

• Everyone 6 months old and older, with rare exceptions, should receive an updated 2024-2025 flu vaccine for the fall/winter respiratory virus season.
• September and October are the best times for most people to receive vaccines, subject to availability.
• Adults (especially those aged 65 and older) should not get vaccinated too early, such as July or August, unless it won’t be possible for them to be vaccinated in September or October.

Among the highlights of the simplified RSV vaccine guidance for seniors:

• Everyone aged 75 and older should receive the RSV vaccine.
• People aged 60–74 who are at increased risk for severe RSV, including those with certain chronic medical conditions such as lung or heart disease and/or those residing in a nursing home, should receive the RSV vaccine.
• These recommendations are only for adults who didn’t get vaccinated last year, as this is not an annual vaccine.

To read the CDC media statement, click here.