Illinois’ health department has released new vaccine guidance for the fall respiratory virus season, aiming to quell “disruption and confusion.”
The Illinois Department of Public Health unveiled the recommendations for both children and adults while also issuing a “standing order” to ensure access to COVID-19 vaccinations for residents.
“These actions are necessary because the federal government is no longer following its rigorous scientific review processes for vaccine-related decisions,” the department said in a release. “The CDC’s gold-standard practices, followed for decades, have prevented serious illness and saved millions of lives nationwide.”
Here’s what to know:
Which vaccines are recommended in Illinois?
According to IDPH, the following vaccine guidance was “adopted” after votes made this week by the Illinois Immunization Advisory Committee, a group of 20 experts spanning a wide range of specialties.
“All Illinoisans, including concerned parents and health care providers, deserve credible, transparent, science-based vaccine guidance,” IDPH Director Dr. Sameer Vohra said in a statement. “IDPH’s recommendations, made in consultation with our Immunization Advisory Committee, will ensure that residents can protect themselves and their family members this upcoming respiratory season.”
The recommendations include:
Flu vaccination is recommended for all people ages 6 months and older. RSV immunization is recommended for: All pregnant people during weeks 32 through 36 of pregnancy. All infants under the age of 8 months without maternal RSV vaccine protection entering their first RSV season. Children ages 8 months through 19 months who are at increased risk for severe RSV disease. Adults ages 50 years through 74 years at increased risk of severe RSV disease.?? All adults ages 75 years and older. COVID-19 vaccination is recommended for: All children ages 6 months through 23 months. Children ages 2 years through 17 years who have at least one underlying risk factor, who have weakened immune systems, who have never been previously vaccinated for COVID-19, who live in congregate settings or live in households with those at risk for severe COVID-19.? Children ages 2 years through 17 years without underlying risk factors whose parents/guardians want them to get a COVID-19 vaccine. All pregnant people and those who are planning pregnancy, those who are postpartum (after pregnancy), or during lactation. All adults 18 years and older.For all other routine, non-seasonal vaccines, IDPH said it plans to follow the most recent guidance from the CDC’ Child and Adolescent Immunization Schedule.
“This schedule does not include today’s updated COVID-19 recommendations and providers are encouraged to follow the State of Illinois’ recommendations,” the department said. “IDPH will issue updated immunization schedule recommendations as appropriate should there be new federal or medical specialty society guidance for review or receive alternate recommendations from the Illinois Immunization Advisory Committee.”
What is the guidance for COVID vaccines?
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s new vaccine advisers added confusion this month for fall COVID-19 vaccinations — declining to recommend them for anyone and leaving the choice up to those who want a shot.
Until now, the vaccinations had been recommended as a routine step in the fall for nearly all Americans — just like a yearly flu vaccine.
The Food and Drug Administration already had placed new restrictions on this year’s shots from Pfizer, Moderna and Novavax, reserving them for people over 65 or younger ones who are deemed at higher risk from the virus.
But as part of the state’s new guidance, Vohra issued a “standing order” to ensure access to COVID-19 vaccines in pharmacies and other clinical settings.
“The standing order will facilitate health care providers in pharmacies and other clinical settings to administer COVID-19 vaccines in accordance with IDPH’s recommendations,” the department said. “Federal insurance programs, fully-insured plans subject to the Affordable Care Act (ACA), and state-regulated insurance programs will cover COVID-19 shots. In recognition of the efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccine in preventing serious illness, most private insurers have also indicated their intention to continue covering the COVID-19 vaccine.”
What to expect for fall virus season?
Already, respiratory viruses are “trending up” in Illinois.
According to the statewide dashboard, hospitalizations for flu and RSV are trending slightly upward, while COVID admissions fell since early September.
The state remains at a low risk so far, though health officials warn that peak flu, RSV and COVID activity usually arrives in December, “with flu often having a second peak in February.”
What else to know
Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed an executive order last week that paved the way for Illinois to launch its statewide effort to “protect vaccine access” this fall, saying such a move was necessary after recent confusion over COVID vaccine guidance and “concerning actions taken by Health and Human services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.”
“This is about making sure no family in Illinois is left wondering if they can protect themselves against preventable serious illness,” Pritzker said in a release announcing Executive Order 2025-04. “When the federal government abandons its responsibility, Illinois will step up. We will follow the science, listen to medical experts, and do everything in our power to enable families to receive the care they need.”
The order called for the IDPH to publish “plain-language guidance” on vaccines, along with continued school and community clinic-based vaccine support.
Other measures in the order, the release said, specifically target the recented “volatile” decisions taken by the HHS and Kennedy.
“These actions have led to the erosion of trust, caused confusion regarding vaccine guidelines, and threatened access to life-saving vaccines,” the release said. “Executive Order 2025-04 is designed to ensure that no matter what direction the federal government takes, Illinoisans will have access to seasonal and routine child and adult vaccines: protecting them from a wide range of illnesses and diseases including COVID-19, flu, RSV, polio, measles, whooping cough, and hepatitis B.”
In August, several officials at the Centers for Disease and Control and Prevention resigned after the White House announced CDC Director Susan Monarez, who was confirmed in July, had been fired. White House spokesman Kush Desai said Monarez “was not aligned with the President’s agenda of Making America Healthy Again.”
At the same, the Food and Drug Administration approved the next round of COVD shots for fall, but only for a smaller, high-risk group of people. The new restrictions, which must still be approved and recommended by the CDC, are likely to affect what insurers cover for people who don’t qualify for the updated Covid shots.
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The release went on to say that IDPH encourages all those in Illinois, especially people 65 and older and those who have chronic medical conditions to speak with their health care provider about fall vaccines.
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