Getting a COVID vaccine this fall might be difficult. Here's what to know

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Getting a COVID vaccine this fall might be difficult. Here's what to know
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RFK Jr. says COVID-19 vaccine no longer recommended for some
The COVID-19 vaccine is no longer recommended for healthy children and pregnant women, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says.
It may not be that easy to come by COVID vaccines this fall, due to new regulations
Getting a COVID shot in the fall could potentially cost you $200 under the new changes
What remains unclear ‒ and of much higher concern to pediatricians and infectious disease experts ‒ is whether RFK's new policy covers all shots or just boosters
It might not be that easy to get a COVID-19 vaccine this fall.
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced in a social media post on May 27, that the only people who will be recommended for COVID-19 vaccines are those over 65 and people with existing health problems.
These changes, which bypassed the normal scientific review process, may make it harder for others who want the COVID-19 vaccine to get it, including healthcare workers and healthy people under 65 with a vulnerable family member or those who want to reduce their short-term risk of infection.
Will you be able to get a COVID vaccine when fall rolls around?
Here's what to know.
Will COVID vaccines be accessible this fall?
Insurance coverage typically follows federal recommendations, so anyone who is healthy and under 65 is likely to have to pay out of pocket to get the shot ‒ which runs about $200 ‒ if they can get it. It's not clear what insurance companies will do about the new recommendations.
What remains unclear – and of much higher concern to pediatricians and infectious disease experts – is whether Kennedy's new policy covers all shots or just boosters. Children between 6 months and 2 years are at high risk for severe COVID-19 because they've not been exposed to it before, just as everyone was at higher risk when the virus was new.
Who still needs a vaccine?
The federal government has stopped tracking COVID-19 infections, hospitalizations and deaths, but local data shows they are still happening in every age group, with two-thirds of hospitalizations in people 65 years and older.
For example, in Massachusetts data shows that there have been over 61,000 confirmed cases so far in 2025 and 576 confirmed deaths. Of those, the most cases have been in people over 65 years old, though as with the national data there are cases in all brackets.
Meanwhile, safety data on the vaccines continues to show that serious side effects are extremely rare, leading many specialists and expert organizations to conclude that it's still worthwhile to get the vaccine.
While the vaccine is most important for people in vulnerable groups, such as those over 65 and people with health conditions, a booster remains useful for everyone, even children, several experts and disease organizations told USA Today in a report this week.
"By removing the recommendation, the decision could strip families of choice," Dr. Sean O'Leary, chair of the AAP Committee on Infectious Diseases, told USA TODAY. "Those who want to vaccinate may no longer be able to, as the implications for insurance coverage remain unclear."
Should children get the COVID-19 vaccine?
Healthy kids will no longer be recommended for COVID-19 vaccines, according to Kennedy's policy announcement.
Fewer than 5% of children received the COVID-19 vaccine between the fall of 2023 and the fall of 2024, data shows. Yet COVID-19 continues to lead to about as many hospitalizations in children as the flu, at about 100 hospitalizations for every 100,000 kids under 4.
USA Today reporter Karen Weintraub contributed to this report.