Which vaccines are recommended for seniors this fall?

Dear Savvy Senior: Which vaccines are recommended for seniors this flu season? And does Medicare cover them? — Just Turned 65

Dear Just Turned 65: There are three types of vaccines that seniors should consider getting this fall to protect against a repeat of last winter’s “tripledemic” of respiratory illnesses, which included flu, RSV and COVID. Here’s a rundown of the vaccines that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is recommending and how they are covered by Medicare.

Senior-specific flu shots

For people 65 and older, there are three flu vaccines (you only need one) that the CDC recommends over traditional flu shots.

These FDA-approved vaccines provide extra protection beyond a standard flu shot, which is important for older adults who have weaker immune systems and have a greater risk of developing dangerous flu complications compared with younger, healthy adults. The three senior-specific options:

■ Fluzone High-Dose Quadrivalent vaccine, which contains four times the amount of antigen as a regular flu shot, creating a stronger immune response.

■ Fluad Quadrivalent vaccine, which contains an added ingredient called adjuvant MF59 that also helps create a stronger immune response.

■ FluBlok Quadrivalent vaccine, is a recombinant protein (egg-free) flu vaccine that contains three times the amount of antigen as compared with a regular flu shot.

The Fluzone High-Dose and Fluad vaccines can cause mild side effects typically experienced with a standard-dose flu shot: pain at the injection site, muscle aches, headache, fatigue. The side effects of Flublok tend to occur a little less frequently.

All flu vaccines are covered 100 percent by Medicare Part B as long as the provider agrees not to charge you more than Medicare pays.

New RSV vaccines

Anyone 60 or older, especially if you have any heart or lung conditions, diabetes, kidney or liver disorders that make you vulnerable to the respiratory syncytial virus, should consider getting one of the new FDA-approved RSV vaccines (either Arexvy or Abrysvo).

These vaccines, recommended by the CDC, will help protect older and immunocompromised adults from respiratory illness, which is responsible for 6,000 to 10,000 deaths and at least 60,000 hospitalizations each year in seniors 65 and older.

The new RSV vaccines are covered by Medicare (Part D) prescription drug plans.

Updated COVID shot

If you haven’t had a COVID booster shot lately, you should consider getting one this fall. Even though the COVID public health emergency has ended and the number of cases has gone way down, it has been surging in recent months, causing an increase in hospitalizations, especially among the elderly.

The updated COVID vaccine targets the XBB omicron subvariants that are some of the most dominate coronavirus variants circulating in the U.S. It will also provide protection against the EG.5 variant (Eris).

COVID booster shots are covered 100 percent by Medicare Part B.

Send your senior questions to: Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070, or visit SavvySenior.org.