Several leading medical organizations have released updated recommendations for flu, COVID-19, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccines for the 2026-27 respiratory season. This guidance may be especially important for people with heart disease because some heart conditions can increase the risk of serious illness from flu, COVID-19, and RSV.

Heart disease can include coronary artery disease, heart failure, cardiomyopathy, congenital heart disease, valve disease, and arrhythmias. Risk can vary based on the type and severity of heart disease, age, and other health conditions.

Vaccines train the immune system to recognize and fight specific viruses. That training can help your body fight the virus more quickly if you’re exposed to it later.

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There isn’t one vaccine plan that’s right for everyone with heart disease. Your cardiology team or other healthcare provider can help you decide which vaccines to get and when.

The Vaccine Integrity Project, working with the American Medical Association (AMA), reviewed the latest evidence on flu, COVID-19, and RSV immunizations for the 2026-27 respiratory season. The findings helped inform recommendations from several leading medical organizations, including:

The review included 299 studies published mostly between August 2025 and June 2026. It found that flu, COVID-19, and RSV immunizations continued to provide meaningful protection against hospitalization, severe illness, and death.

The amount of protection can vary based on the virus, the vaccine or immunization, the season, and a person’s health.

For the 2026-27 respiratory season, COVID-19 and flu vaccines have updated formulations. There are also three RSV vaccines for adults. These vaccines differ in how they are made and which age groups or risk groups they are approved for.

COVID-19 Vaccines

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved four COVID-19 vaccine options. All four vaccines are given by injection.

Certain heart conditions can increase the risk of severe COVID-19, but having heart disease doesn’t necessarily mean you’re immunocompromised (have a weakened immune system).

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends discussing COVID-19 vaccination with your healthcare provider based on your age, health conditions, vaccination history, and immune status. People who are moderately or severely immunocompromised may follow a different schedule.

Flu Vaccines

All U.S. flu vaccines for the 2026-27 season are trivalent, meaning they are designed to protect against three influenza viruses.

Most people need one flu vaccine dose each season. Some children may need a second dose based on their age, vaccination history, or individual health circumstances. For people with heart disease, annual flu vaccination is recommended.

People with heart disease generally shouldn’t receive the live-attenuated nasal flu vaccine FluMist. Ask your healthcare professional which flu vaccine is best for you.

RSV Vaccines

There are three FDA-approved adult RSV vaccines.

For adults, the CDC recommends a single dose of RSV vaccine for everyone age 75 and older. It also recommends vaccination for adults ages 50 through 74 who are at increased risk of severe RSV illness, including people with certain chronic heart conditions. The RSV vaccine isn’t currently given every year.

For people with heart disease, the benefits of vaccination generally outweigh the risks. Current evidence shows that flu, COVID-19, and RSV immunizations can reduce hospitalization, severe illness, and death.

Vaccines can cause side effects, but serious side effects are uncommon. Your healthcare team can explain what to expect and help you weigh the benefits and risks.

The right vaccine and timing can vary for people with heart disease. Your healthcare team may consider your:

Having heart disease doesn’t automatically mean that your immune system is weakened. However, severe or unstable disease, recent hospitalization, or being immunocompromised for other reasons may affect when and how you should be vaccinated.

Ask not only which vaccines are available, but which type, dose, and timing make sense for you, including whether an additional COVID-19 dose may be appropriate.

Timing Around Treatments and Cardiac Events

If you have new or worsening cardiac symptoms or are moderately or severely ill, ask your healthcare team about the best time to get vaccinated. A recent hospitalization, surgery, or cardiac procedure alone isn’t a reason to delay vaccination if you aren’t moderately or severely ill.

Cardiac procedures, such as stent placement, bypass surgery, valve treatment, or a pacemaker procedure, don’t automatically require a vaccine delay, but your healthcare team can help coordinate timing. Don’t delay, skip, or change heart treatment to get vaccinated unless your healthcare team recommends it.

If you developed myocarditis (inflammation of the heart muscle) or pericarditis (inflammation of the sac around the heart) within three weeks of a COVID-19 vaccine dose, the CDC generally recommends avoiding another dose.

If you had myocarditis or pericarditis before vaccination or more than three weeks after a vaccine dose, you may be able to get a COVID-19 vaccine once the condition has fully resolved and there’s no evidence of ongoing heart inflammation or related complications.

Heart disease does not necessarily mean that you will have a weaker response to vaccines. However, older age, other health conditions, and medicines that suppress the immune system can affect how well vaccines work.

Staying up to date with seasonal vaccines can help reduce the risk of serious respiratory illness and related heart complications, although vaccination can’t prevent every infection or heart-related complication.

In many cases, COVID-19, flu, and RSV vaccines can be given at the same visit.

Whether that makes sense for you may depend on your treatment schedule, previous vaccinations, expected side effects, and other health needs. Ask your cardiology or primary care team whether getting more than one vaccine at the same appointment is right for you.

Questions To Ask Your Cardiology or Primary Care Team About Seasonal Vaccines

You may want to ask: