• Posted August 23, 2025

Roll Up Your Sleeve: Flu Shot Season is At Hand

With a longtime vaccine critic leading the nation’s health departments, you might be wondering whether there’s a new flu shot this fall.

There is —  and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says most Americans should get it.

He’s basing that recommendation on the advice of a board he appointed to advise the federal government on vaccines.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says people 6 months old and up should get a flu shot. That’s pretty much the same advice the CDC has given in the past.

This year’s version of the flu vaccine should be widely available soon, according to KFF Health News. No shortages are anticipated.

So when should you roll up your sleeve?

The best time to take the jab is September, October or early November, doctors say. That not only gives your body time to build up antibodies as outbreaks begin, it also helps ensure your protection won’t disappear before flu season ends. 

Dr. William Schaffner, a professor of infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee, told KFF that flu outbreaks typically peak in February. 

This year’s flu vaccine protects against two influenza A viruses and one influenza B virus. Scientists tweaked the formula, as recommended by the World Health Organization, to target a specific strain of the A/H3N2 virus that is expected to circulate this season.

As always, though, other strains may emerge. Sometimes the shot is a good match for the virus; other times, it’s been less so.

In other words, KFF noted, a flu shot is not guaranteed to protect against the influenza strain that emerges each winter. 

Instead, the vaccine is intended to help keep people out of the hospital or the intensive care unit and prevent deadly infections. 

Very young children, pregnant women, the elderly and folks with weakened immune systems and some chronic health conditions, including diabetes and heart disease are at higher risk for complications.

"A flu vaccine may not guarantee perfect protection against the flu, but skipping your flu shot simply guarantees you’ll have no protection at all," said Dr. Benjamin Lee, a pediatric infections disease specialist at the University of Vermont Children’s Hospital in Burlington.

While this year’s flu shot is expected to be available in ample supply, future seasons could be different, KFF reported. 

Kennedy recently canceled funding for development of mRNA vaccines, including one that would have combined flu and COVID shots. There are no currently approved mRNA flu shots.

More info

You can get immunized this fall against flu without taking a jab into the arm. Learn more about the intranasal vaccine FluMist.

SOURCE: KFF Health News, Aug. 18, 2025