Aug 27, 2025
(Source)
Only those who are over 65 years of age or have a "high-risk health condition" (on the list below the cut) will be permitted to receive the 2025 COVID vaccine.
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(Source)
Only those who are over 65 years of age or have a "high-risk health condition" (on the list below the cut) will be permitted to receive the 2025 COVID vaccine.
FOR PARENTS OF YOUNG KIDS IN THE US!
Someone over on bluesky posted this and I figured I'd better repost it here. It's the pre-RFK 2025 vaccination schedule for babies and young children, ya know, just in case it mysteriously disappears. Save this and give it to your child's pediatrician; tell them this is the schedule you want your child on.
In retrospect it's a good thing The X-Files debuted five years before the fraudulent Wakefield study dropped, because given how the show's early season are about addressing contemporary social issues, there 100% would have been an episode about how vaccines cause autism because of aliens.
It's time to get your flu vaccine!
I would say the biggest reason people don't get their annual flu shots is because they just don't know how/where to.
If you're someone who's never done it before, you might be unfamiliar with the process. Let's go over some common questions/misconceptions. Fair warning, this is going to be very US centric, but also I assume (I hope) most other countries have it easier getting flu shots to begin with.
"Where do I go?"
Nearly every pharmacy will have them! I went to the hospital this past weekend, but in previous years I've gotten it from CVS, my college campus, and local clinics in my city.
"How much does it cost?"
It's FREE with almost every insurance plan!!!
Without insurance, there's still a few options. HRSA has a page where you can find federally funded clinics that may offer free or low-cost flu shots. I was uninsured last year, and got my flu shot for free on my college campus. Many cities/counties will schedule days (usually around October) where pop-up clinics provide flu shots, sometimes rewarding you with gift cards! I just checked my hometown's county website, and they offer $17 vaccines for adults with no insurance.
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"I'm afraid of needles!"
You have options!!! There's a nasal spray version of the flu vaccine that's just as effective (and is now available to be administered BY YOURSELF AT HOME!!), the only downsides being that it has more restrictions for who can get it, it might cost more, and not every place you go will have it.
You can also try your very best to be brave!! The needle they use for the flu shot is a very very tiny gauge that you barely feel at all. This weekend when I got my shot, I ran into a friend and was chatting while I got my shot, to the point that I didn't even notice I was done until the nurse put the bandage on! It doesn't even hurt remotely as much as a papercut. Distractions help, or you could promise yourself a reward afterwards :)
If you're afraid of needles to the point that you pass out, PLEASE tell the person who's administering you're vaccine!
"I'm immunocompromised!"
You can (and should!) still get your flu shot! If you're immunocompromised, you might not be able to get the nasal spray since it's a "live" virus, but the jab is safe for everybody. If anything, being immunocompromised is more of a reason to get the vaccine.
The ONLY people who cannot get the flu vaccine are those who have had a serious allergic reaction to the flu vaccine. Some versions of the vaccine contain egg protein, so let the person vaccinating you if you're allergic to eggs.
"I want a vaccine, but I'm underage and my parents won't let me!"
This is a valid concern! If you think you can reason with your parents, show them the CDC's website on why it's recommended, and maybe have them talk to your doctor about it if they're unsure.
If you know your parents would never agree, and you're in a position where it's safe to do so, most places provide free vaccines under the Vaccines For Children program for anyone age 18 or under. This site has a list of every states' Minor Consent Laws and if you'll be able to get the vaccine without needing to inform/get permission from your parent.
"It's no longer flu season!"
Flu season is considered to be October-April. I've gotten the vaccine in the middle of summer before. It's fine. It lasts the whole year, you don't need to worry about "timing it" to last the whole flu season. It's never too early or too late!
"The flu shot made me get sick."
This is impossible.
Repeat after me: The flu vaccine cannot get you sick.
The day after you get your vaccine, you may feel fatigued and a little sore, but that's your immune response working!! You will not shed the virus and infect other people if this happens to you. Take some ibuprofen and a nap and you'll be fine.
If you get the flu right after getting the shot, that was just very unfortunate timing, and you were going to get the flu whether you got the vaccine or not. Either that, or you got sick with something else.
It IS possible to catch the flu after getting the flu shot, and this usually only happens if you caught a different strain than what you were vaccinated for, but your vaccine should still give you partial immunity and your symptoms will be much less severe.
Have you gotten your flu vaccine this year?
Yes!
No
No, but I have plans to!
If you have any other questions/concerns about the flu vaccine, check and see if it's been answered in this podcast! (PDF transcript available) (youtube link)
Because salt molecules dissolve in water, the charged ions that make up the salt molecules break apart, taking up heat from the water.
"Calling it “a fridge to bridge the world,” the Thermavault can use different combinations of salts to keep the contents at temperatures just above freezing or below it. Some vaccines require regular kitchen fridge temps, while others, or even transplant organs, need to be kept below freezing, meaning this versatility is a big advantage for the product’s overall market demand.
Dhruv Chaudhary, Mithran Ladhania, and Mridul Jain are all children of physicians or medical field workers in the [city] of Indore. Seeing how difficult it was to keep COVID-19 vaccines viable en route to countryside villages hours outside city centers in tropical heat, they wanted to create a better, portable solution to keeping medical supplies cool.
Because salt molecules dissolve in water, the charged ions that make up the salt molecules break apart. However, this separation requires energy, which is taken in the form of heat from the water, cooling it down.
Though the teen team knew this, it remained a challenge to find which kind of salt would have the optimal set of characteristics. Though sodium chloride—our refined table salt—is what we think of when we hear the word “salt,” there are well over one-hundred different chemical compounds that classify as salt.
“While we did scour through the entire internet to find the best salt possible, we kind of just ended up back to our ninth-grade science textbook,” Chaudhary told Business Insider.
Indeed, the professors at the lab in the Indian Institutes of Technology where they were testing Thermavault’s prototype were experimenting with two different salts which ended up being the best available options, a discovery made after the three teens tested another 20, none of which proved viable.
These were barium hydroxide octahydrate and ammonium chloride. The ammonium chloride alone, when dissolved, cooled the water to between 2 and 6 degrees Celsius (about 35 to 43 degrees Fahrenheit) perfect for many vaccines, while a dash of barium hydroxide octahydrate dropped that temperature to below freezing.
“We have been able to keep the vaccines inside the Thermavault for almost 10 to 12 hours,” Dr. Pritesh Vyas, an orthopedic surgeon who tested the device at V One hospital in Indore, said in a video on the Thermavault website.
Designing a prototype, the teens have already tested it in local hospitals, and are in the process of assembling another 200 for the purpose of testing them in 120 hospitals around Indore to produce the best possible scope of use and utility data for a product launch.
Their ingenuity and imagination won them the 2025 Earth Prize, which came with a $12,500 reward needed for this mass testing phase."
-via Good News Network, April 22, 2025