For people whose autumn agenda includes getting vaccinated against respiratory diseases — covid, flu, and, for some, RSV — this year may be surprisingly routine.

Following several confusing months this summer when federal officials announced and then retreated from changes to covid vaccine recommendations, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Oct. 6 announced updated fall immunization schedules that are not that different from last year’s. That should clear the way for most people who want shots this fall to get them, public health experts say.

“From a patient’s experience, there shouldn’t be anything different from what they’ve experienced in the past, except maybe they’ll get a little more information from the pharmacist,” said Hannah Fish, senior director of strategic initiatives at the National Community Pharmacists Association.

This fall, the covid vaccine is recommended for everyone 6 months or older, with one caveat. People need to have a conversation with their provider first, a model called “shared clinical decision-making.” Providers can be doctors, pharmacists, or the health professionals giving the shots. For people younger than 65, the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices emphasized that vaccination is generally more beneficial for those who are at higher risk for severe covid.

Although the shots are recommended for the same age range as last year, there are a few possible wrinkles. Even though the CDC’s approval is broad and means that health plans have to cover the shot without charging consumers for it, some providers may balk at giving the vaccine to people under 65 unless they have an underlying condition that puts them at risk for severe covid if they get infected. That’s what the Food and Drug Administration’s label for the covid vaccine advises.

“It’s a nuance that could occur in an interaction between a provider and a patient,” said Jen Kates, a senior vice president and the director of global and public health policy at KFF, a health information nonprofit that includes KFF Health News.

However, if a provider refused to administer the shot to a healthy person because doing so would be “off-label,” another provider would probably be willing to give someone the jab, experts said.

“They could go to a different pharmacy,” Kates said.

Subscribe to KFF Health News' free weekly newsletter, "The Week in Brief."

Many states have stepped in to ensure that people can get vaccines if they want them, according to a KFF analysis. Twenty-one states and the District of Columbia have adopted recommendations that are broader than those of the federal government, Kates said.