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Have you gotten this year’s COVID vaccine?

Nicoletta Lanese

12 September 2025

Federal guidance about the 2025-2026 COVID-19 vaccine has raised questions and confusion around the shots. Have you tried to get one this year?

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(Image credit: Yulia Reznikov via Getty Images)

Each fall, updated versions of the COVID-19 vaccines come out around the same time as the annual flu shot. And just like the flu shot, these updated COVID vaccines are formulated to protect against virus strains that people are more likely to encounter in the coming months, as opposed to strains that were rampant the year prior.

But this year, the hunt for an updated COVID vaccine may be fraught.
In August, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued guidance limiting the groups that are recommended to get the updated shot: Only people ages 65 or older or those who are at least 6 months old with one underlying health condition that increases their risk of a severe COVID infection are covered. Those outside these two groups may have to consult a doctor to get a prescription before seeking a COVID shot, and even then, it might not be covered by their insurance. The situation is confusing, and the picture varies from state to state.

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Typically, vaccine advisors to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also weigh it with their own COVID vaccine recommendations, and that should happen next week (Sept. 18 to 19). But prominent opponents to vaccines have recently been added to that committee, so it’s unclear how it will rule.

Some states are already breaking from the federal guidance. For instance, Minnesota and New York have issued executive orders to try and expand their residents’ access to the shots. Oregon, Washington, California and Hawaii have formed an alliance to provide their residents with unified recommendations on vaccines, although they’ve yet to issue details on the 2025-2026 COVID shots.
Have you tried to get a COVID vaccine this year? If so, how did it go? Tell us in the poll below, and if you’ve encountered specific issues while getting this year’s COVID vaccine, let us know what they were in the comments. Live Science will publish additional guidance on the 2025-2026 COVID vaccine next week, so stay tuned for that article, too.
Related: COVID-19 vaccines for kids are mired in uncertainty amid conflicting federal guidance

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Nicoletta Lanese

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Channel Editor, Health

Nicoletta Lanese is the health channel editor at Live Science and was previously a news editor and staff writer at the site. She holds a graduate certificate in science communication from UC Santa Cruz and degrees in neuroscience and dance from the University of Florida. Her work has appeared in The Scientist, Science News, the Mercury News, Mongabay and Stanford Medicine Magazine, among other outlets. Based in NYC, she also remains heavily involved in dance and performs in local choreographers’ work.

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Unpacking RFK Jr.’s (many) false claims about COVID vaccines

Scientists gave mice flu vaccines by flossing their tiny teeth — and it worked

‘Universal’ cancer vaccine heading to human trials could be useful for ‘all forms of cancer’

Experimental HIV vaccines show promise in early safety test

Thimerosal carries no health risks and is almost never used anyway. So why are anti-vaxxers obsessed with it?

RFK Jr. wants to overhaul the country’s ‘vaccine court.’ Here’s what stands in his way.

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