Key takeaways:
- You should get updated flu and COVID vaccines this fall, ideally by October.
- From September through January, both vaccines are available from the Yale Flu and COVID Vaccine Program(Link is external) and free for faculty, staff, and students.
- Vaccines may be self-scheduled(Link is external), and are offered at multiple times and locations.
Fall vaccines are here
It’s time to get vaccinated. Yale’s Flu and COVID Vaccine Program(Link is external) is ready with free, updated COVID vaccines and influenza (flu) shots for Yale faculty, staff, students, and Yale Health members.
Why vaccinate? Both COVID and flu can be disruptive, disabling, and, for some, deadly. On campus, they can result in missing work, classes, and activities, plus put others at risk.
Importantly, this is also a health equity issue: both flu and COVID disproportionately burden marginalized communities. Your choice to vaccinate can help reduce the risk of spread to these groups.
Flu shots: Not an afterthought
CDC recommends(Link is external) everyone older than 6 months get a flu shot this fall. Flu clinics begin on September 11.
- While recommended for everyone, flu shots are especially important(Link is external) for pregnant women, young children, those with chronic conditions, and those age 65 and over.
- September or October are good months to get vaccinated. This timing offers protection through the worst of the flu season.
- The 2024-2025 trivalent vaccine protects against recently circulating(Link is external) H1N1, H3N2, and a B/Victoria lineage virus.
You may have heard the flu shot is only partially protective. That’s true, but with high community uptake, even a partially effective vaccine saves lives.
In 2018, Yale epidemiology professor Alison Galvani calculated(Link is external) that a flu vaccine that’s only 20% effective can prevent 21 million infections and save 61,812 lives if just 43% of the US population elects to get the jab.
Healthcare workers and health professional students (Nursing, Medicine, and Physician Associate) are required to have an annual flu vaccine by December 1, 2024, to protect themselves and their patients.
New COVID vaccines are available
The Yale Flu and Covid Vaccine Program(Link is external) will offer the 2024-2025 Pfizer-BioNTech COVID vaccine.
- Yale Health and Campus Health strongly encourage CDC-recommended(Link is external) COVID vaccinations for students, faculty, staff, postdoctoral/postgraduate trainees, and visitors.
- Vaccination helps prevent severe disease, hospitalization, and death from SARS-CoV-2. It modestly reduces transmission and long COVID risks too.
When to get the new vaccine is a subject of debate(Link is external), as the current wave may have lessened by the time it is widely available. If you are not immune compromised, waiting until later in the fall is a reasonable choice, before an expected winter wave.
- In a new recommendation(Link is external), the CDC has determined that the updated vaccine can be administered as early as 2 months following a 2023-24 vaccine dose.
- Consider waiting 3 months after your last COVID bout(Link is external) to get vaccinated. Otherwise, as Yale immunologist Akiko Iwasaki explains, your circulating antibodies could interfere with the vaccine(Link is external).
Scheduling your vaccines
Getting a flu or COVID vaccine is free and convenient. An appointment is needed. Use our Flu and COVID Vaccine Scheduler(Link is external) to book now. If you need help with scheduling, call 203-432-8797.
- Multiple dates and locations(Link is external) are available.
- COVID vaccine has arrived, and appointments are available beginning on September 16. We will make appointments available for scheduling as supply allows.
- Flu and COVID vaccines may be administered together. Select one of the COVID and Flu options when scheduling.
- Information for Yale Health members and their families will be coming in a separate message.
Let’s do our part!
Yours in health,
Madeline Wilson, MD
Chief Campus Health Officer