DrG's Medisense Feature Article

Fall Vaccines
By Ann Gerhardt, MD
October 2025
Print Version

We have no Federal vaccine recommendations for this fall, and the government and multiple insurers are no longer paying for vaccines.  That doesn’t mean that vaccine manufacturers stopped making them or we shouldn’t try to protect our health by being vaccinated.  

This fall, physician groups advise us to avail ourselves of one of the Influenza vaccines (Fluzone high dose for the elderly or immunocompromised, Flumist for healthy children, and regular dose vaccines for everyone else older than 6 months), RSV vaccine for those older than 75 years,  and one of the updated COVID-19 vaccines (Pfizer, Moderna or Novovax, which is less likely to cause severe side effects of fever and fatigue) for those older than 6 months.  Since the viruses continue to mutate, likely making our existing resistance deficient, our logical choices are to vaccinate or resume masking/isolating.  Life is full of choices…