What to know
- Three RSV vaccines are licensed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for use in adults ages 60 and older in the United States.
- CDC recommends everyone ages 75 and older get an RSV vaccine.
- CDC recommends adults ages 60–74 who are at increased risk of severe RSV disease get an RSV vaccine.
- If you have already gotten an RSV vaccine, you do not need to get another one at this time.
- You can get one at any time, but the best time to get vaccinated is in late summer and early fall.
Available Vaccines
Three RSV vaccines are licensed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for use in adults ages 60 and older in the United States:
- GSK's Arexvy
- Moderna's mResvia
- Pfizer's Abrysvo
These vaccines work by causing an immune response that can protect you from respiratory disease if you get RSV in the future. Eligible adults can get any one of these three vaccines. The RSV vaccine is given as a single dose.
Who should get an RSV vaccine?
CDC recommends an RSV vaccine for all adults ages 75 years and older and for adults ages 60–74 years who are at increased risk of severe RSV.
Conditions that increase your risk for severe illness include:
- Chronic heart or lung disease
- Weakened immune system
- Certain other medical conditions, including some people with diabetes and some people with obesity
- Living in a nursing home
For a complete list of chronic health issues that lead to increased risk of severe RSV, see Clinical Overview of RSV.
The RSV vaccine is not currently an annual vaccine, meaning people do not need to get a dose every year. If you have already received an RSV vaccine, you do not need another dose at this time.
Who should not get an RSV vaccine?
You should not get an RSV vaccine if you've ever had a severe allergic reaction to any component of the vaccine. Information about the three available RSV vaccines can be found in the manufacturer's package inserts for GSK's Arexvy, Moderna's mResvia, and Pfizer's Abrysvo.
When should I get an RSV vaccine?
If you haven’t gotten an RSV vaccine yet, you can get one at any time, but the best time to get vaccinated is in late summer and early fall before RSV usually starts to spread in the community. In most of the continental United States, this means getting your vaccine during August–October.
If you have a moderate or severe illness, you should wait until you recover before receiving an RSV vaccine. If you have a minor illness, such as a cold, you can get an RSV vaccine.
How long do these vaccines work?
One dose of RSV vaccine provides protection against RSV disease in adults ages 60 years and older for at least two years.
Because Arexvy and Abrysvo were licensed by FDA in May 2023 and mResvia was licensed in June 2024, we are still learning about how long RSV vaccines provide protection.
Additional data are needed for all three vaccines to determine how long the protection lasts.
What are the possible side effects?
Side effects such as pain, redness, and swelling where the shot is given, fatigue, fever, headache, nausea, diarrhea, and muscle or joint pain may occur after you get an RSV vaccine. These side effects are usually mild. Patients who have experienced these symptoms when getting other vaccines might be more likely to experience them after getting an RSV vaccine.
A small number of participants in clinical trials developed serious neurologic conditions, including Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS), after receiving GSK's Arexvy or Pfizer's Abrysvo. GBS is a rare condition in which your immune system attacks your nerves, causing symptoms such as weakness.
Early safety surveillance data from CDC and the FDA-Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) partnership suggest a potential for an increased risk of GBS after RSV vaccination in older adults ages 60 and older. However, these data are from the first RSV season during which vaccines were available and are preliminary. At this time, an increased risk of GBS cannot be confirmed. Learn more about GBS and vaccines.
There were no reports of GBS among adults who received Moderna's mResvia vaccine in clinical trials, but a similar safety signal cannot be ruled out from the clinical trial data alone—clinical trials may be too small to capture rare events such as GBS. Vaccine safety monitoring systems will continue to monitor for GBS caused by any RSV vaccine, including mResvia.
Additional analyses are underway and will provide more information about whether there is an association between any RSV vaccine and GBS and, if it is present, how high the risk is. CDC and FDA will share data on RSV vaccine safety as they become available.
According to CDC estimates, the risk of being hospitalized from RSV is significantly higher than any GBS risk from vaccines in adults 75 and older and in adults 60-74 who have health conditions that increase risk of severe RSV.
As new data become available, CDC may update RSV vaccine recommendations.
For information on RSV vaccine safety, including side effects:
Reporting adverse events
Sign up for V-Safe
If you experience side effects from an RSV vaccine, you should report them to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS). Your healthcare provider might file this report, or you can do it yourself through the VAERS website, or by calling 1-800-822-7967.
If you have any questions about side effects from getting an RSV vaccine, talk with your healthcare provider.
- Melgar M, Britton A, Roper LE, et al. Use of Respiratory Syncytial Virus Vaccines in Older Adults: Recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices — United States, 2023. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2023;72:793–801. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm7229a4