Covid cases have risen. Flu season is approaching. And new vaccines for the virus known as R.S.V. recently became available.
This swirl of developments has left many people wondering which vaccine shots they should be getting and when. Today’s newsletter offers a guide.
The main message that I heard from experts is that Americans should shift how they think about respiratory viruses. For the past few cold-weather seasons (which are also when viruses spread most), we obsessed over Covid. This year, we should take a broader approach. “It’s not only Covid you have to think about,” said Dr. Peter Hotez, a vaccine expert and the author of a forthcoming book, “The Deadly Rise of Anti-Science.”
The good news is that there are vaccines and treatments that reduce risks from all major viruses likely to circulate this season, including Covid. “For the past couple of seasons, the notion was that Covid controlled us,” Dr. Nirav Shah, the C.D.C.’s principal deputy director, told me. “The tables have turned, not just for Covid but for the others.”
1. R.S.V.
The most immediate step worth considering involves R.S.V., which stands for respiratory syncytial virus. It is a common winter virus that usually causes mild cold-like illness but can be dangerous for young children and older adults, as Emily Martin, an epidemiologist at the University of Michigan, has told The Times.
This spring, the federal government approved the first R.S.V. vaccines, for people aged 60 and older. If you qualify, consider getting your R.S.V. vaccine shot now. Shah, the C.D.C. official, recently urged his mother to do so. Hotez, who’s 65, has received his own R.S.V. shot.
Why now? R.S.V. tends to circulate somewhat earlier than the flu. If you’re 60 or over, “you don’t want to get into November without having an R.S.V. vaccine,” said Dr. Ashish Jha, the former White House Covid adviser and current dean of Brown University’s public health school.
What about infants? Although there is no R.S.V. vaccine for them, children under 8 months (and some who are older) can receive an advance antibody treatment to prevent severe illness. Parents may want to ask their pediatrician about it. It’s sufficiently new that not all doctors have it yet.
2. Influenza
The flu officially kills about 35,000 Americans in a typical year, and the true toll is probably higher. As Jha told me, the flu also weakens the body in ways that make heart attacks and strokes more common, especially among the elderly. “We underestimate the impact that respiratory viruses have on our population,” he said. “The flu can knock people out for weeks, even younger people.”
Yet the flu’s toll would be lower if more people got a vaccine shot. In recent years, less than half of Americans have done so.
This year’s flu vaccine shots are now available at drugstores, hospitals, doctor’s offices and elsewhere. You may want to wait until late September or October to get one, though. The heaviest parts of flu season tend to occur between December and February. If you wait, the shot’s protection against severe illness will still be near its strongest level during those months.
3. Covid
The best defenses against Covid haven’t changed: vaccines and post-infection treatments. They are especially important for vulnerable people, like the elderly and the immunocompromised. “Overwhelmingly, those who are being hospitalized are unvaccinated or undervaccinated,” Hotez said.
The federal government is on track to approve updated Covid vaccine shots, designed to combat recent variants, in mid-September. Once it does, all adults should consider getting a booster shot. Many Americans have now gone more than a year without one, and immunity has waned.
Yes, severe Covid remains rare in people under 50, especially if they have received a vaccine shot or had the virus — and nearly all Americans fall into one or both categories. But Covid can still be nasty even if it doesn’t put you in the hospital. A booster shot will reduce its potency.
Shah argues that children (over 6 months old) should also get a Covid shot this fall, even though their own Covid risk is very low. “We should be thinking bigger than just ourselves,” he told me. “Do you want to see your grandpa? Do you want to hang out with your grandma? Are you really sure you’re not going to give Covid to them?” Even some boosted older people get severe versions of Covid.
A good strategy for many people may be to get their Covid booster and flu shot at the same time, in late September or October.
And if you’re older and you get Covid, talk to a doctor about taking Paxlovid or a different treatment. It can make a big difference. “When I get Covid,” said Jha, who’s 52 and healthy, “I have every intention of taking Paxlovid.”
The bottom line
I’ve offered specific advice here about the ideal time to get different vaccine shots. But don’t exaggerate the importance of timing. As Shah said, “What I care more about is that you get all three shots if you’re eligible rather than when you get all three.”
Related: Check your at-home Covid tests to see if they have expired.
THE LATEST NEWS
Politics
Donald Trump pleaded not guilty in the Georgia criminal case over his efforts to overturn the 2020 election, waiving an in-person arraignment.
Justice Clarence Thomas formally disclosed private flights, luxury trips and a real estate transaction with Harlan Crow, a billionaire conservative donor.
A former Proud Boys leader received a 17-year prison sentence for plotting to attack the Capitol.
“We need 50 million bucks”: With Ron DeSantis lagging Trump, the chief strategist of DeSantis’s super PAC made an urgent plea to donors.
Mitch McConnell
Congress’s attending physician called Senator Mitch McConnell “medically clear” to work after he froze up at a news conference for a second time.
Three senators named John — Thune, Cornyn and Barrasso — are among the possible successors if McConnell steps down as Republican leader.
War in Ukraine
Small Ukrainian advances like retaking the village of Robotyne are providing a morale boost for both Ukrainian troops and the public.
New Russian high school textbooks seek to justify the war.
International
The building in Johannesburg where at least 74 people died in a fire was a refuge for desperate families seeking an affordable place to live.
Pope Francis landed in Mongolia, home to fewer than 1,500 Catholics but bordering China and Russia, whose leaders have thwarted his ambitions.
China
U.S. officials have been flying to China for diplomatic meetings — but Chinese officials may not send anyone in return.
China is spreading disinformation about Japan’s release of treated radioactive water into the ocean.
Prisons
A man escaped from a prison near Philadelphia, days after receiving a life sentence for killing a former girlfriend. Police warned he was “extremely dangerous.”
For men awaiting execution in Texas, illicit games of Dungeons & Dragons became a lifeline.
Other Big Stories
Hurricane Idalia wrecked boats and turned waters dark and dirty in Florida’s Big Bend region, hurting the local fishing industry.
Ralph Yarl, a Black teenager, testified in court about being shot after he rang a doorbell by mistake. A judge ruled the case should proceed.
The president of Yale said he would step down next year after more than a decade in the job.
Opinions
Trump’s mug shot is a new entry in the history of presidents who have used portraits as political tools, Cara Finnegan writes.
Why does Dianne Feinstein want to remain in the Senate? When everything is falling apart, we cling to what we know, Patti Davis argues.
Here are columns by Farhad Manjoo on Chicago’s Hyundai lawsuit and David Brooks on generosity.
MORNING READS
A steer in shotgun: A retired man has been driving around with his pet steer, Howdy Doody.
Fraternité: The “Republic of Super Neighbors” wants to recast urban living in Paris.
Not a morning person? Here are some tips to help mornings feel more tolerable — and even productive.
Pain cave: How an ultrarunner learned to work through agony.
Modern Love: With athletic tape and a fake goatee, she became the man she wanted to see.
Lives Lived: The lawyer David Rowland recovered hundreds of looted artworks for the heirs of Jewish collectors whom the Nazis had persecuted. He died at 67.
SPORTS NEWS
Shohei Ohtani: The baseball player seems certain to have surgery on his elbow, but he continues to hit.
N.F.L.: Cooper Kupp, a Rams star receiver, has been slow to recover from a hamstring injury.
Gators stifled: Utah beat Florida at home last night in the teams’ season-opening football game.
U.S. Open: John Isner, an American known for winning the longest match in tennis history, retired from the sport following losses in singles and doubles matches.
ARTS AND IDEAS
British Museum: The world’s third-most-visited museum is in crisis. The museum fired an employee over the theft of potentially thousands of items from its storerooms. Then the museum’s director resigned.
Lawmakers and museum officials around the world are using this moment to reiterate their calls for the return of objects they say were stolen by Britain, like the Parthenon Marbles and a collection of Benin Bronzes.
More on culture
Christie’s canceled a sale of jewelry from the collection of an Austrian heiress following criticism of connections between her family’s fortune and Nazi-era policies.
Are the characters in “Succession” and “Mad Men” actually good negotiators? A Harvard professor evaluates them in this video from The Wall Street Journal.
THE MORNING RECOMMENDS …
Layer the parts of a California roll for a sushi bake.
Use better cat litter.
Make smoothies in a smaller blender.
Take our news quiz.
GAMES
Here is today’s Spelling Bee. Yesterday’s pangrams were hegemony and homogeny.
And here are today’s Mini Crossword, Wordle, Sudoku and Connections.
Thanks for spending part of your morning with The Times. See you tomorrow. — David
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