Although respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is often associated with children, adults can also get it. RSV usually causes mild, cold-like symptoms such as cough, congestion, and a runny nose. However, people with certain health conditions face a higher risk of severe illness.

Many older adults in the United States are eligible for the RSV vaccine, but may be unaware of it.1 Current guidelines recommend just one dose to help protect against severe infection.2

If You’re 50 to 74 Years of Age

If your age falls between 50 and 74 years and you’re at risk for severe infection, then the American Academy of Family Physicians and other groups recommend that you get a one-time RSV vaccine.3 It’s estimated that between 110,000 and 180,000 adults 50 and older in the U.S. are hospitalized each year for RSV-related illness.4

“The age cut-off, whether it’s 60 or 50, seems to be changing a little bit. As a physician, it’s not so much the age, it’s the underlying condition that would drive it,” Glenn William Wortmann, MD, section director of infectious diseases at MedStar Washington Hospital Center, told Verywell.

Conditions that may qualify you for an RSV vaccine include:5

• Chronic cardiovascular disease
• Lung disease
• Liver disease
• End-stage renal disease
• Sickle cell disease
• Severe obesity
• Immune compromise

If you live in a nursing home, you’re also qualified for an RSV vaccine.

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If You’re 75 or Older

Current vaccination guidelines state that anyone who is 75 or older should get one of the RSV vaccines: GSK’s Arexvy, Pfizer’s Abrysvo, or Moderna’s mResvia.6 Because the risk of severe RSV-related illness increases with age, this age group carries an increased risk of serious or life-threatening RSV-related illness.4

RSV infections can make asthma symptoms worse or progress to pneumonia, bronchitis, or congestive heart failure. In the U.S., RSV complications contribute to an estimated 10,000 older adult deaths each year.7 The RSV vaccine plays a key role in protecting many people from serious infection.

“Everybody 75 and older should get it. Pregnant moms during certain weeks of pregnancy should get it. That’s pretty hard and fast,” Wortmann said.

If You’re Pregnant

Pregnant people can get the RSV vaccine to help protect their babies from infection.8 Pfizer’s Abrysvo is the only vaccine approved for use in pregnancy.9

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommends that a pregnant person get one RSV shot at 32 to 36 weeks of gestation—if those weeks fall sometime in September through March in most of the United States and if the person did not receive an RSV vaccine in a previous pregnancy.9 The RSV vaccine protects the infant for the first eight months after birth.10

Infants and babies can still get protection if their mother was not vaccinated during pregnancy. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that infants 8 months and younger without maternal protection receive either Beyfortis (nirsevimab) or Enflonsia (clesrovimab).1112 Some high-risk babies between 8 months and 19 months can also get a nirsevimab or clesrovimab injection during the RSV season.10

Beyfortus and Enflonsia are injectable monoclonal antibodies, not vaccines.1314 They are designed to provide almost immediate, short-term protection during the time infants are most vulnerable to serious RSV infection.15 However, they cannot treat RSV infections.

Who Should Not Get the RSV Vaccine?

People who have already received one dose of the RSV vaccine are not eligible for a second shot. This may change as the CDC considers how long protection lasts.16

People who have experienced a severe allergic reaction to an RSV vaccine component should not get the shot. Mild side effects, like headache, pain at the injection site, fever, and nausea, are common.16

The Pfizer Abrysvo and Moderna mResvia vaccines have been FDA-approved for high-risk adults under 50. However, the CDC has not recommended the vaccines for people younger than 50.5

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), which makes recommendations about vaccine use to the CDC, has announced it will review evidence and provide updates to RSV vaccine recommendations based on available data.5