Check-in: Are you up to date on all your vaccines?
August is National Immunization Awareness Month. Staying up to date on your recommended vaccines helps protect your health, especially if you have COPD.
Vaccines help teach your immune system to recognize and fight germs that cause disease. If you are ever exposed to the real illness, your body will be ready to respond quicker and keep you safe.1
Vaccines are especially important for people with COPD. Infections like the common flu can cause COPD flare-ups.2 During a flare-up, your symptoms suddenly get much worse. Flare-ups can have a long-term effect on the health of your lungs.
To protect your lungs and your overall well-being, consider these key vaccinations:
Influenza (flu)
The flu is a contagious sickness that affects your lungs. Common symptoms include fever, aches, chills, and headache. The flu sometimes causes other problems for older people and people with chronic diseases like COPD. One common complication is pneumonia.3
The seasonal flu vaccine is recommended for every adult each year.
Pneumococcal (pneumonia)
This vaccine protects against a type of bacteria that can cause pneumonia and bacterial meningitis.4
Pneumonia can lead to serious health problems. It is especially serious for older adults and people with long-term lung disease. Symptoms include cough, shortness of breath, mucus, chest pain, and fever.5
Bacterial meningitis is an infection in the meninges, a thin covering around the brain and spinal cord. Common symptoms include fever, neck pain, headache, and confusion.6
The CDC recommends this vaccine for all adults aged 50 and older who have not had the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine.
Shingles
The main symptom of shingles is a painful rash with blisters. Shingles is caused by the same virus that causes chickenpox. After chickenpox, the virus can stay inside your body for a long time without causing symptoms. Years later, the virus can become active again, leading to shingles.7
People living with COPD are 41% more likely to be affected by the shingles virus.8 Shingles can also lead to an increase in COPD symptoms.9 The shingles vaccine can help protect you. It is recommended for adults aged 50 and older.
Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)
RSV is a virus that causes severe colds and chest infections. Infants and older people are the most likely to become very ill. Each year, hundreds of thousands of people in the U.S. are hospitalized with RSV.10
If you are 60 or older and have COPD, the RSV vaccine is recommended to help keep you safe.
COVID-19
COVID-19 is caused by a virus that attacks the lungs. In 2024-25, up to 550,000 Americans were hospitalized because of COVID.11
The CDC recommends an updated COVID vaccine for most adults. People aged 65 or older should receive two doses in a year, six months apart.
Getting vaccinated is one of the best ways to protect yourself from illness and flare-ups. As we head into the fall, remember to talk to your doctor about which vaccines are right for you. Tell us in the comments: What are you doing to stay healthy this season?
Resources
- World Health Organization. How Do Vaccines Work? 2025. Accessed August 6, 2026. https://www.who.int/news-room/feature-stories/detail/how-do-vaccines-work
- Mao J, Li Y, Lv D. Impact of influenza on chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: pathophysiology, exacerbations, and preventive approaches. Ther Adv Respir Dis. 2025;19:17534666251363307. doi:10.1177/17534666251363307
- Trombetta CM, Kistner O, Montomoli E, Viviani S, Marchi S. Influenza Viruses and Vaccines: The Role of Vaccine Effectiveness Studies for Evaluation of the Benefits of Influenza Vaccines. Vaccines (Basel). 2022;10(5):714. Published 2022 May 1. doi:10.3390/vaccines10050714
- Giriappa B, Choraria N, Ponce P, et al. Immunogenicity and safety of 20-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine in pneumococcal vaccine-naive adults ≥18 years of age in India: A phase 3 single-arm trial. Hum Vaccin Immunother. 2026;22(1):2605847. doi:10.1080/21645515.2025.2605847
- Lim WS. Pneumonia—Overview. Encyclopedia of Respiratory Medicine. 2022;185-197. doi:10.1016/B978-0-12-801238-3.11636-8
- Runde TJ, Anjum F, Hafner JW. Bacterial Meningitis. [Updated 2023 Aug 8]. StatPearls. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2026 Jan. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK470351/
- Baxter R, Bartlett J, Fireman B, et al. Long-Term Effectiveness of the Live Zoster Vaccine in Preventing Shingles: A Cohort Study. Am J Epidemiol. 2018;187(1):161-169. doi:10.1093/aje/kwx245
- Marra F, Parhar K, Huang B, Vadlamudi N. Risk factors for herpes zoster infection: a Meta-Analysis. Open Forum Infect Dis. 2020;7(1):ofaa005. doi:10.1093/ofid/ofaa005
- Muñoz-Quiles C, López-Lacort M, Díez-Domingo J. Risk and impact of herpes zoster among COPD patients: a population-based study, 2009-2014. BMC Infect Dis. 2018;18(1):203. doi:10.1186/s12879-018- 3121-x
- Kelleher K, Subramaniam N, Drysdale SB. The recent landscape of RSV vaccine research. Ther Adv Vaccines Immunother. 2025;13:25151355241310601. Published 2025 Jan 10. doi:10.1177/25151355241310601
- Wiegand RE, Chickery S, Yang D, et al. Interim Estimated Effectiveness of 2025-2026 COVID-19 Vaccines in Adults Using a Test-Negative Design. JAMA Netw Open. 2026;9(6):e2625152. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2026.25152