Times Reporters Answer Your Vaccine Questions
“The vaccine situation in the United States is chaotic, with challenges in access and misinformation about safety. While Covid shots are generally available, some pharmacies require prescriptions and pediatric doses are not always stocked. The M.M.R.V. vaccine is being recommended against due to a slight increase in fever-induced seizures, despite being safe and effective.
We try to parse the chaotic vaccine landscape in the United States.
The vaccine situation in the United States has become chaotic, and it can be hard to keep up. An advisory committee voted last week to limit access to Covid vaccines and combination shots for measles, mumps, rubella and chickenpox. President Trump and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. say that vaccines may be linked to autism, a claim that has been discredited by decades of scientific studies.
We know you have questions about vaccines. The Times asked what readers wanted to know — and received hundreds of queries about efficacy, safety, cost and access. Today’s newsletter brings you answers, courtesy of health and science reporters: Maggie Astor, Dani Blum, Teddy Rosenbluth, Apoorva Mandavilli, Reed Abelson and Emily Baumgaertner Nunn. See more answersabout flu shots and the childhood vaccine schedule.
Are Covid shots available?
Largely, yes. On paper, anyone 6 months and older should be able to get the updated shots (which target more recent variants of the coronavirus).
In practice, though, some people may face challenges. Pharmacies in some states have been requiring prescriptions, even for those in high-risk groups; while that is likely to change if the C.D.C. adopts recent recommendations, a new provision that urges people to consult a medical professional before getting vaccinated may create barriers. Many pharmacies and doctors aren’t stocking pediatric doses. And although the C.D.C. recognizes pregnancy as a high-risk condition, it has stopped recommending vaccination during pregnancy.
What happened to the M.M.R.V. vaccine?
Parents have had two options for protecting their children against measles, mumps, rubella and chickenpox. Option No. 1: Children get two shots — one for chickenpox, and another that covers the rest.
Option No. 2: Children get one combined shot, called the M.M.R.V. That one slightly increases the risk of fever-induced seizures in young children, which can alarm parents but do not cause lasting harm. Parents may choose this option to reduce the number of injections or clinic visits.
An advisory panel now says that the C.D.C. should eliminate the choice and recommend only the separate shots.
Will insurance pay?
Probably. Under the Affordable Care Act, almost all insurers must fully cover vaccines recommended by the C.D.C. They don’t have to cover other shots, but they can choose to — and many say they plan to disregard recent changes. For instance, a trade association for health insurers said this month that through at least the end of 2026, its members would cover all vaccines that the C.D.C. recommended as of Sept. 1.
If you don’t have insurance, out-of-pocket costs vary. The C.D.C. maintains a list of private-sector prices. But this list reflects only how much providers pay. They are likely to charge you more — potentially more than $200 for Covid shots at a pharmacy, and around $290 for M.M.R.V.
How do we know they’re safe?
New shots are rigorously evaluated to ensure that their benefits outweigh their risks.
Testing begins in lab animals, like mice or primates. If the vaccine appears to be safe and promising, it advances to its first clinical trial. This trial often includes fewer than 100 people. After that, researchers monitor side effects in a larger trial, which includes more participants of different ages and backgrounds. Finally, the vaccine is tested in thousands — sometimes as many as tens of thousands — of participants, which lets the researchers detect rare side effects.
The process can take up to a decade, after which the F.D.A. reviews the data and decides whether to approve the shot. And officials continue to collect data about vaccine side effects even after its approval. Health agencies may update recommendations or add warning labels if they find a link between a serious side effect and a vaccine.
Can vaccines be dangerous?
Significant side effects are rare. Shots may produce fatigue, fever and pain at the injection site. But health officials withdraw immunizations that cause bigger problems. For example, in 1999, the C.D.C. withdrew its recommendation for a rotavirus vaccine that was associated with intestinal blockages in children, and the manufacturer voluntarily ceased production.
A fraction of a percent of young people — especially young men between 12 and 24 — who receive their first two doses of Moderna’s and Pfizer’s Covid shots may experience myocarditis, or heart inflammation. In all age groups, myocarditis is more common after contracting Covid than after getting a Covid vaccine. Myocarditis is treatable, and most people who experience it recover fully.
Flu shots are also very safe. Guillain-Barré syndrome — in which the immune system attacks nerves — occurs in one or two recipients in a million, and flu infections are much more likely than vaccines to cause it.“
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