The 2024 adult immunization schedule includes a few updated recommendations for the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), mpox, COVID-19, and meningitis, among others.1
When you go to your healthcare provider next year, you might get some new vaccine recommendations based on the updates.
“This is really the best and most up-to-date evidence-based information for vaccinations and public health and disease prevention, so I do follow it,” Shengyi Mao, MD, a clinical associate professor of internal medicine at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, told Verywell.Here are some of the most important changes to the adult vaccine schedule in 2024.
The New Schedule Includes Mpox and Meningococcal Vaccines
The mpox vaccine (Jynneos) was added to the immunization schedule for adults 18 and older with certain sexual risk factors. Two shots are administered 28 days apart.1 This vaccine protects against mpox (previously called monkeypox), a rare viral infection that can cause severe illness or death in people with weakened immune systems.2
The new schedule also reflects the updated guidance on Pfizer’s new pentavalent meningococcal vaccine. This vaccine, called Penbraya, is the first one to target five bacterial strains that can cause meningitis and blood poisoning.3
Previously, people would have to receive two different vaccines—MenACWY and MenB. Penbraya is now an option for people who would otherwise be eligible to receive MenACWY and MenB during the same visit.3
Read the original article on Verywell Health.
