How to Get the Vaccines You Need Now

The influenza virus can infect your nose, throat, and lungs. The CDC estimates that more than 47 million people in the U.S. caught the flu during the 2024-2025 season, and up to 130,000 of them died.

Is it effective? This varies because experts reformulate the vaccine annually, based on the strains they think are most likely to circulate. During the 2024-2025 flu season, the shot prevented flu 56 percent of the time, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Who needs it: The Infectious Diseases Society of America recommends that everyone 6 months and older get the shot annually. It’s especially important for people at higher risk for severe flu, like those who are over 65, living with chronic illnesses like heart or lung disease, or pregnant. People 65 and older should opt for one of the high-dose flu vaccines, such as Fluzone High-Dose Trivalent. These have been shown to be more protective for older adults, says Rachel Chasan, MD, an infectious disease specialist at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City. It’s fine to get the shot now—flu season runs into spring. But late September or October is ideal. "That’s enough time to allow your body to build up immunity for flu season but not so early that the shot loses effectiveness" in the middle of it, Chasan says.

Who should skip it: With all vaccines, talk to your doctor first if you’ve had a severe allergic reaction to a vaccine ingredient in the past.

Cost: Free with insurance, or $19 to $86 without, at a pharmacy or doctor’s office.

Must-know info: This vaccine may also safeguard your heart. A 2023 meta-analysis found that vaccinated people had a 26 percent lower risk of heart attack and a 33 percent lower chance of dying from cardiovascular disease over about nine months. Inflammation is bad for your heart, and the shot "helps protect against inflammation that’s caused by the flu virus when you’re sick," Schaffner says.

Rates of this highly contagious respiratory illness are much lower than they were during the height of the pandemic, but the virus is still circulating. In September 2025 at least 1,271 people died from it worldwide, according to the World Health Organization.

Is it effective? Its ability to prevent serious disease varies from year to year. Between September 2024 and January 2025, it reduced the likelihood of adults ending up in the emergency room or an urgent care clinic by 33 percent. It nearly halved the risk of hospitalization in immunocompromised adults 65 and older.

Who needs it: Until recently, the CDC recommended that everyone 6 months and older get one or more doses of the shot a year, and that people 65 and older get two or more doses. Currently, the agency advises people of all ages to first consult their healthcare provider. Groups such as the American Academy of Family Physicians are sticking with the CDC’s original advice. "The vaccine helps to prevent complications and death in people of all ages, regardless of their health status," says Richard Martinello, MD, an infectious disease specialist at the Yale School of Medicine in New Haven, Conn. Experts we spoke to say it’s especially important for older adults and those with conditions like heart or lung disease or diabetes.

Who should skip it: If you’ve just had COVID-19, you may want to wait 90 days—you’ll have immunity for that time.

Cost: Free with insurance, or up to $168 without, at a pharmacy or doctor’s office.

Must-know info: Research shows that it’s fine to get your COVID-19 and flu vaccines at the same time. In fact, people given a vaccine that included both had a more robust immune response, in a 2025 study published in JAMA.

Varicella-zoster, the virus responsible for chickenpox, may lie dormant and reactivate later in life, causing shingles. This can bring a painful, blistering rash and lead to chronic nerve pain, pneumonia, temporary or permanent vision loss, hearing problems, and brain inflammation.

Is it effective? The two-dose vaccine prevents shingles in 97 percent of people ages 50 to 69, and 91 percent of those 70 and older. It’s 91 percent effective in preventing the complication of chronic nerve pain in people ages 50 and up, and 89 percent in those 70 and older. It’s also helpful for people with weakened immune systems. "The vaccine has become a real game-changer for my immunocompromised patients," says Camille Nelson Kotton, MD, an infectious disease specialist at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. "I’ve seen a dramatic drop in cases and complications."

Who needs it: Groups like the CDC and the ACP recommend that everyone 50 and older get the two-dose Shingrix vaccine, even if they already had shingles or received Zostavax, the older shingles vaccine. Adults younger than 50 should have the vaccine if they are immunocompromised (such as people with cancer).

Who should skip it: Anyone who had an allergic reaction to the first shot (there are two) or is allergic to components of the vaccine.

Cost: Free with insurance and up to $215 without. You can get the two doses, generally spaced two to six months apart, at a pharmacy or in doctors’ offices.

Must-know info: The shingles vaccine may reduce the risk of dementia by about 20 percent, according to a 2025 study published in the journal Nature. "We think it probably prevents the brain inflammation caused by a shingles infection," Kotton says.

This vaccine helps prevent pneumococcal pneumonia. Nearly a million U.S. adults catch this bacterial infection each year, according to the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases. Up to 400,000 are hospitalized, and more than 20,000 of those hospitalized die.

Is it effective? Current vaccines are 60 to 70 percent effective in preventing pneumococcal disease.

Who needs it: People age 50 and older, and younger adults who smoke, are alcoholics, or have a medical issue such as a weakened immune system.

Who should skip it: If you’ve had an allergic reaction to any past vaccine, check with your doctor first.

Cost: Free with insurance, or up to $302 without, at a doctor’s office or pharmacy.

Must-know info: The four pneumococcal vaccines that are currently available are Vaxneuvance (PCV15), Prevnar 20 (PCV20), Capvaxive (PCV21), and Pneumovax 23 (PPSV23). If you haven’t had any of them, you may want to ask for PCV21—which is the newest, according to Kotton. "It covers most of the pneumococcal strains currently circulating," she says. If you already got an older vaccine, ask your doctor how to proceed.

The respiratory syncytial virus causes mild, coldlike symptoms in most adults, but it may be far more serious for some. A September 2025 study found that about half of people hospitalized for RSV are age 65 or above. About 10 percent of the hospitalized people who are 75 or older die.

Is it effective? The one-time vaccine is 81 percent effective at preventing older adults from being admitted to intensive care, dying, or both, according to a 2024 study published in The Lancet.

Who needs it: Everyone 75 and older, as well as people ages 50 to 74 who have a health condition such as heart or lung disease. They’re more vulnerable to RSV complications like pneumonia.

Who should skip it: Talk to your doctor if you’ve ever had a severe allergic reaction to any component of the vaccine.

Cost: Free with most health insurance, or up to $307 without, at a doctor’s office or pharmacy.

Must-know info: A 2025 study published in The Lancet found that effectiveness dropped from 82 percent in the first year to 56 percent in the second year and 48 percent in the third. More research needs to be done to determine whether a booster may be useful, Schaffner says. Some early research suggests the vaccine may be associated with a very small increased risk of Guillain-Barré syndrome, a rare autoimmune disorder.

The vaccine protects against the bacterial diseases tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis. Tetanus enters the body through wounds and can lead to trouble swallowing and breathing, and even death. Diphtheria can cause breathing problems, heart damage, or death. Pertussis (whooping cough) causes uncontrollable coughing.

Is it effective? The shot is 100 percent effective for tetanus and 97 percent for diphtheria. The vaccine initially provides high protection for pertussis, but this drops to about 34 percent after four years.

Who needs it: If you’ve never been vaccinated against pertussis, or are unsure whether you were already vaccinated, it’s wise to get the vaccine now, according to Timothy Brewer at UCLA. Otherwise, get a booster every 10 years.

Who should skip it: Talk to your doctor if you’ve ever had an allergic reaction after a dose of this vaccine, have a history of seizures, or have had Guillain-Barré syndrome.

Cost: Free with insurance, or up to $49 without, at a doctor’s office or pharmacy.

Must-know info: Make sure your TDAP booster is up to date if you’re going to be around an infant: Pertussis can be deadly in newborns.

Many adults with an acute hepatitis B infection have no symptoms or only mild ones, such as yellow skin or eyes, and recover on their own. In some cases, the infection becomes chronic and can lead to liver damage, cancer, and even death.

Is it effective? The vaccine, administered as a series of two or three shots, is 80 to 100 percent effective in preventing the infection, and protection is thought to be lifelong. It may be slightly less potent in older adults.

Who needs it: Adults under 60 who didn’t get the vaccine in childhood, and those over 60 with hepatitis B risk factors such as fatty liver disease, according to the CDC. "Really, any adult who’s never been vaccinated should consider getting it," Martinello says.

Who should skip it: Anyone with a yeast allergy.

Cost: Free with insurance, or up to $155 without, at a pharmacy or doctor’s office.

Must-know info: This is considered one of the first anti-cancer vaccines because it prevents liver cancer—a type of cancer that chronic hepatitis B can cause.

Inactivated: These vaccines, which include the polio shot, contain a deactivated or "killed" version of a virus or bacteria.

Live-Attenuated: The measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine is live-attenuated, which means it uses a weakened form of a pathogen.

mRNA: This technology, which was used to create COVID-19 vaccines in record time, contains the genetic code of a virus. Some people have raised concerns about mRNA, including the possibility that it could change human DNA. But the genetic material that’s in mRNA vaccines doesn’t integrate into our DNA, says Martinello: "It’s biologically impossible for the vaccine to alter our DNA."

Subunit, Recombinant, Polysaccharide, and Conjugate: These contain specific components of a germ, such as its proteins. Hepatitis B, pertussis, and pneumococcal vaccines are in this category.

Toxoid: Toxoid vaccines, such as those for diphtheria and tetanus, use a toxin made by a bacterium.

These vaccines should be available in all states without a prescription, but in some areas, you may have difficulty. And because the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now advises talking to a medical provider before you get a COVID-19 shot, you may have to sign a document that says you’ve consulted with one, says Schaffner. But it doesn’t have to be a doctor: Physician assistants, nurse practitioners, registered nurses, and pharmacists also count.

For any vaccine, it’s wise to call the pharmacy or doctor’s office ahead of time to confirm that you’ll be able to get the shot you want, Schaffner says. If you’re concerned you may have to pay for the COVID-19 shot out of pocket, Medicare and Medicaid currently cover it and private health insurers will do so at least through the end of 2026.

Probably not. You may have heard that measles, which can cause pneumonia, brain swelling, and even death, is on the rise in the U.S. As of October 2025, more than 1,500 cases of measles had been reported across the country, the most since the disease was declared eradicated here in 2000.

These are the shots you need—and several to get if you missed them earlier in life. Talk with your doctor if you’re unsure about your vaccine history.