Yes, there are FDA-approved RSV vaccines for adults. The CDC recommends a single dose for all adults 75 and older, and for adults 50 to 74 who have certain health conditions that raise their risk of severe RSV illness. Three vaccines have been approved for use in adults: Arexvy (made by GSK), Abrysvo (Pfizer), and mRESVIA (Moderna).
Who Should Get an RSV Vaccine
The recommendations break down into two groups. If you’re 75 or older, the CDC recommends you get vaccinated regardless of your health status. If you’re between 50 and 74, vaccination is recommended only if you have one or more conditions that put you at higher risk for serious complications from RSV.
Those risk factors include:
- Chronic heart disease such as heart failure or coronary artery disease (high blood pressure alone doesn’t qualify)
- Chronic lung disease including COPD, emphysema, asthma, or cystic fibrosis
- Diabetes with complications like kidney disease, nerve damage, or eye damage, or diabetes requiring insulin
- Kidney disease that is end-stage or requires dialysis
- Liver disease such as cirrhosis
- Neurologic or neuromuscular conditions that weaken the ability to cough or breathe effectively
- Severe obesity with a BMI of 40 or higher
- A weakened immune system from medications or medical conditions
- Living in a nursing home
You don’t need medical records to prove you qualify. The CDC guidance states that your own report of a risk factor is sufficient, and vaccinators should not deny the vaccine because of a lack of documentation.
How Well the Vaccines Work
All three vaccines reduce the risk of serious RSV illness, though none offers complete protection. Arexvy reduced RSV-related hospitalizations in older adults by roughly 60 to 65%. Abrysvo showed 58 to 63% efficacy in the same population. mRESVIA, which uses mRNA technology rather than a protein-based approach, demonstrated 55 to 58% efficacy against RSV illness in trials.
Those numbers may sound modest compared to some other vaccines, but RSV hospitalizations in older adults carry real risks of pneumonia, respiratory failure, and death. Cutting that risk by more than half is meaningful, especially for people with underlying lung or heart disease.
How the Three Vaccines Differ
Arexvy and Abrysvo are protein subunit vaccines. They deliver a lab-made piece of the RSV virus directly into your body, and your immune system learns to recognize and fight it. mRESVIA uses mRNA technology, the same platform behind the Moderna COVID vaccine. Instead of delivering a protein directly, it gives your cells genetic instructions to build that protein themselves, which then triggers the immune response.
From a practical standpoint, all three are given as a single injection. The choice between them typically comes down to what your pharmacy or doctor’s office has in stock. There is no CDC preference for one over another.
It’s a Single Dose, Not a Yearly Shot
Unlike the flu vaccine, the RSV vaccine is currently recommended as a one-time dose. There is no annual booster schedule. This makes it more comparable to the shingles vaccine in terms of how you think about getting it: you get one shot and you’re done, at least under the current guidelines.
Side Effects and Safety
Side effects are common but generally mild. In early safety surveillance covering more than 16,000 vaccinated adults, about 39% reported symptoms they believed were related to the shot. The most frequent were pain at the injection site (31%), fatigue (about 21%), and muscle aches (roughly 18%). About 11% reported fever or feeling feverish. These reactions typically resolve within a few days.
Injection site reactions were more common with Arexvy (about 44%) than with Abrysvo (about 20%). Systemic symptoms like fatigue and body aches followed a similar pattern: around 37% for Arexvy versus 22% for Abrysvo.
One safety signal worth knowing about is Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS), a rare neurological condition where the immune system attacks the nerves. Reports of GBS after RSV vaccination were higher than background rates, at roughly 4.4 cases per million doses of Abrysvo and 1.8 per million doses of Arexvy. To put that in perspective, that’s still extremely rare, but it’s the reason the CDC initially limited its recommendation to people most likely to benefit from the vaccine rather than recommending it for all older adults.
Cost and Insurance Coverage
If you have Medicare Part D, the RSV vaccine is covered with zero out-of-pocket cost, since it’s recommended by the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. This applies even if you get vaccinated at an out-of-network pharmacy or provider, though you may need to pay an administration fee upfront and get reimbursed by your plan afterward. Most private insurance plans also cover recommended adult vaccines, though coverage details vary.
When to Get Vaccinated
RSV season in the United States typically runs from fall through early spring, with cases peaking in winter. Getting vaccinated before or early in the season gives your body time to build protection before the virus is circulating most heavily. Late summer or early fall, when many pharmacies begin promoting flu and COVID boosters, is a practical time to ask about the RSV vaccine as well. Since it’s a one-time dose, the exact timing matters less than simply getting it done before your first RSV season after becoming eligible.