Thinking Ahead to Cold, Flu and COVID Season

There are many questions swirling right now regarding vaccinations and availability of COVID and flu shots in the fall. The actions of the current administration with regard to the CDC and FDA have us all concerned about how the winter respiratory season might shape up.

First, I’d like to remind you that while I am generally in favor of most people getting vaccinated for flu and COVID, I know some of you choose not to do that. That’s fine! You are still very welcome to be a patient here, and I won’t give you much of a hard time for these decisions.

If you’re interested in getting vaccinated but worried about not being allowed to do so, let me reassure you. The CDC and FDA cannot prohibit doctors from giving a particular treatment. We can, and do, prescribe things “off-label” all the time. So, I believe you will be able to get vaccines this fall, regardless of the official recommendation from FDA/CDC — even though you might need a prescription from me to do so.

Potential Impact

But I anticipate that there are three ways that these actions could affect vaccinations strategies this fall:

1. Insurance coverage: Insurance companies are required to cover vaccines that are recommended by the federal government’s vaccination authorities. If these vaccines are pulled from recommendations, insurance companies might not cover these at 100%. But, they can choose to do so. Federal guidance is a minimum standard on this issue. I think many insurance companies will continue to cover vaccines at 100%, because it’s in their best interest to keep their members healthy.

2. Availability: If vaccines are removed from official schedules, manufacturers may decrease the total number of vaccines they produce. This could lead to shortages, especially as the season wears on. If we have a rough flu or COVID season in 2025-26, demand might spike and supplies might not be able to keep up.

3. Ease/Accessibility: Pharmacies may not be able to give vaccines as easily, which might make it a little more of a pain to get them. Pharmacists have to adhere to standing written protocols when giving vaccines, and those protocols might rely on official guidance on who gets what vaccines. With a prescription, they can still give the vaccine, but this creates one small hurdle and makes it just a little tougher to walk into your friendly local pharmacy and get a vaccine.

Recommendations

With these hurdles in mind, I’d suggest getting vaccines a bit early this year. Normally we recommend waiting until October to get the shots, since your immunity will peak around the time the winter viral season tends to be at its worst (January and February). Perhaps consider getting vaccinated in September this year. And suggest to your friends and family who might be more susceptible to illnesses that they do the same.

If you intend to get a vaccine at a pharmacy, remember that you can send me a message to get a prescription if it’s necessary. I’ll respond to those as quickly as I can, but it would be best if you could give me a day or so just to make sure I don’t miss it and you end up waiting around.

And if insurance companies end up not covering vaccines and cost is an issue, we will be looking to source vaccines at low cost and will do our best to help you find affordable vaccines.

It’s too bad this issue is such a pain this year. There’s no doubt in my mind that vaccinations for flu and COVID reduce disease burden and are overall a good thing. It would be nice if it was as easy as possible to get these important interventions. But as always, I’ll help you navigate the system and get what you need both this fall, and all year long.