COVID Vaccine for Fall 2023: What We Know So Far

This information in this post was current as of this posting on August 21, 2023. On September 12, the CDC recommended fall 2023 COVID vaccines for everyone age 6 months and older. Read more on our blog.

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What We Know

A monovalent COVID vaccine is coming in fall 2023.

In June, the FDA made recommendations for the COVID vaccines being produced for this fall. After reviewing information on current variants, vaccine effectiveness, and other data, they recommended that vaccine manufacturers update the vaccine to target recent strains.

When the fall COVID vaccine arrives, it will no longer be free for everyone.

Due to the end of the COVID emergency declaration, vaccines are no longer free and manufacturers will charge for them. This will absolutely create vaccination inequity. We are extremely disappointed with this change in national policy.

Most insurers will cover the cost of vaccination, so if you have insurance, your vaccine will likely still be free and available through your healthcare provider or pharmacy. If you don’t have insurance or your insurance doesn’t cover vaccination, you most likely will be able to be vaccinated at Public Health Madison & Dane County for free. We are still waiting for full details from state and federal partners.

Public Health Madison & Dane County will only be able to vaccinate people who are uninsured or underinsured.

Since the vaccine first came available, we’ve been able to vaccinate everyone, regardless of insurance status. Due to the end of the COVID emergency declaration, with the fall COVID vaccines, we will only be able to vaccinate people who are uninsured or underinsured (their insurance doesn’t cover vaccination). As stated above, we are still waiting for full details from state and federal partners.

What We Don’t Yet Know

When the vaccine will be available

We don’t yet have a date for when we will receive the vaccine. They will likely be available in late September or early October.

What the recommendations will be for individuals

CDC maintains a page that outlines the current vaccination recommendations. This page will be updated when the new recommendations are available.

I’m eligible for vaccination now. Should I get my shot now or wait for the fall vaccine?

We are seeing a small uptick in COVID in Madison wastewater and are seeing more COVID activity nationwide. If you’re currently eligible, should you get vaccinated now or wait?

This is a judgment call based on your situation. If you’re low risk or had COVID in the last few months, it might make sense to wait. While we don’t currently know what the fall vaccination recommendations will be, there will most likely be a 4-8 week interval needed between your last dose and the new fall dose.

If you’re higher risk, meaning you’re 65 or older, pregnant, have a chronic health condition, live in a long term care facility, or are immunocompromised, getting vaccinated now can help protect you from getting very sick, needing hospitalization, or dying. Talk to your doctor if you need help deciding when you should get vaccinated.

Stay in touch with us.

We’ll keep our COVID vaccination page updated and will post updates on our social media accounts (@publichealthmdc on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram) as they become available. As always, we’ll post blogs and news releases to help convey critical information too. Subscribe now so you’re on the list!