Everything You Need to Know about Vaccine Protection Against the Flu & COVID-19

Every flu season is different, and for the first time in 2021-2022, all adult and children’s flu vaccines were quadrivalent: designed to protect against four different flu viruses expected to be most common.https://www.cdc.gov/flu/season/faq-flu-season-2021-2022.htm The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also collected data supporting administration of the flu vaccine and the COVID-19 vaccine at the same visit. It’s convenient and safe to receive both vaccines during the same visit at your local CVS Pharmacy or MinuteClinic.

What to expect for the 2022 – 2023 flu season

The recommended timing for vaccinations is similar this year. For most people who need only one dose, September and October are good times to get vaccinated. Ideally everyone should receive their flu vaccination by the end of October. The most important thing is for all people 6 months and older to get a flu vaccine every year.

There are three new flu vaccines preferentially recommended for people 65 years and older: Fluzone High-Dose Quadrivalent vaccine, Flublok Quadrivalent recombinant flu vaccine, and Fluad Quadrivalent adjuvanted flu vaccine. Getting one of these vaccines will help protect seniors, an especially high-risk group, from severe flu, hospitalization, and other complications.

CVS Health is working across the enterprise to help employers and their employees stay healthy this flu season – explaining vaccine access options, providing vaccine education, and encouraging immunizations. We offer convenient, easy-to-use toolkits that include materials to communicate the importance and availability of routine vaccinations.

COVID-19 vaccines and boosters are still important

Experts in the United States are growing concerned that we may face a twindemic this fall and winter, featuring an upward COVID-19 wave along with a bad flu season.https://www.webmd.com/cold-and-flu/news/20220721/australia-twindemic-a-warning-for-the-us The best protection means getting the flu shot and being up to date on COVID-19 boosters. For those who have not yet received their primary series of COVID-19 vaccines, this is a great time to get vaccinated.

We now have new and improved COVID-19 vaccines that target the dominant variants out there. The FDA-authorized bivalent boosters from Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech are tailored to combat the highly transmissible omicron BA.4/BA.5. According to the CDC:https://www.fda.gov/emergency-preparedness-and-response/coronavirus-disease-2019-covid-19/covid-19-bivalent-vaccine-boosters

• Everyone 5 and older who completed the primary vaccine series should get an updated booster shot
• The Pfizer bivalent booster is available to people ages 5 and older 
• The Moderna bivalent booster is authorized for use in those 6 and older
• Younger kids between 6 months and 5 years can get the original formulation of the booster

Ensuring access to and awareness of updated boosters

CVS Health continues to examine shifting perceptions regarding vaccination and what we can do to help overcome challenges with vaccine hesitancy. Our latest survey helped shed light on what might deter people from getting the bivalent booster, namely experiencing and/or seeing others get COVID-19 after being vaccinated and fear of side effects.August 2022 polling data from CVS Advisor Community

When plan members were asked about bivalent boosters, awareness was low. However, most respondents said they were aware of some kind of vaccine coming out in the fall.

It’s important to help people better understand that the vaccines are intended to target new variants and help prevent spread and severe symptoms, not outright prevent COVID-19 infections.

These results underscore the importance of our commitment to support education and access. As a leading provider of COVID-19 and flu vaccinations, we continue to do our part to slow the spread of these viruses and keep members healthy.