COVID-19 is rising as kids are headed back to school. Are 2026 flu and COVID vaccines available?

Classrooms are bustling. COVID-19 cases are surging. And flu season is coming.

As fall approaches, so do coughs, runny noses and reminders to get your flu and COVID-19 shots. But are they even available yet?

Our simplest answer right now: Yes and almost.

The 2026-27 flu vaccine is here 

Pharmacies including Walgreens and CVS have already started promoting their flu vaccination programs. Because it’s still early, you’ll want to check on its availability in your area, but odds are good that you can find it.

Sanofi, the manufacturer of flu vaccines approved for use in the U.S., began shipping its flu vaccines to customers across the country in July as planned, a Sanofi spokesperson told PolitiFact.

Physicians’ offices have started getting it, too.

Dr. Jason Terk, a pediatrician in Keller, Texas and former president of the Texas Pediatric Society, said his practice already has some injectable influenza vaccines, but nasal spray versions have not yet arrived.

“We will ramp up our flu vaccine provision activities once we have received all of our influenza vaccinations which typically happens starting in September,” he said.

Vaccine manufacturers made the updated flu vaccines after the Food and Drug Administration in March issued its 2026-27 formula recommendations. The formulas align with what the World Health Organization recommended, too.

The updated COVID-19 vaccine is in progress 

As of Aug. 26, the vaccines were not yet available at pharmacies or physicians’ offices. But they were expected to be coming soon.

The COVID-19 vaccines have broadly received U.S. regulators’ approval and the FDA told manufacturers which formula to use for the fall, but the agency hasn’t yet issued all the approvals required for the 2026-27 vaccines. That’s holding up distribution.

“Unfortunately, we do not know when updated COVID vaccines will be available, but pharmacies have already started pre-booking so once the manufacturers are ready to ship, pharmacies will receive them,” said Brigid Groves, the American Pharmacists Association’s vice president of professional affairs.

She said that the manufacturing and approval timelines so far have aligned with what we saw last year; in 2025, the FDA sent approval letters for the upcoming COVID-19 vaccines on Aug. 27.

So, if you’re hoping to get your flu and COVID-19 shots in one appointment, you’ll have to wait a bit longer.

Will insurance cover COVID-19 and flu vaccines? 

Contact your insurance provider to be sure, but likely yes.

Major insurers and industry groups including Kaiser Permanente, United Healthcare, Blue Cross Blue Shield and AHIP, a national trade association for health insurers, have said their health plans will continue to cover flu and COVID-19 vaccines at no cost to their members.

When is the best time to get vaccinated? 

September and October are the best times to get updated vaccines that protect against COVID-19 and the flu, Groves said. That’s in line with recommendations doctors gave PolitiFact in the past.

Speaking as a pediatrician, Terk said it’s generally safe and appropriate for children to get vaccinated in the fall as soon as the vaccines are available. The longer parents delay getting their children vaccinated, the more likely they forget to do it at all.

“There is no reason to delay getting your child vaccinated once vaccines are available,” he said.

Terk said his pediatric practice recommends vaccination against influenza and COVID-19 for all eligible patients — and their parents.

“The data are quite clear that vaccination substantially reduces the risk for influenza and COVID-19 related hospitalizations and complications,” he said, “especially among more vulnerable populations who have underlying conditions that enhance their risk.”