Puerto Rico's double vaccine season kicks off: 46,690 flu doses given as new COVID-19 formula arrives

Puerto Rico moved fully into its 2026-2027 vaccination season this week on two fronts at once: seasonal influenza, which has already reached 46,690 doses administered since mid-August, and COVID-19, for which the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved four updated formulas on August 27 targeting the XFG strain of the JN.1 lineage ¹². Dr. Iris Cardona, chief medical officer of the Department of Health, confirmed the pace of flu vaccination with a simple "we're doing well," though she warned it is still time to build up protection before community transmission climbs in the coming months ¹.

Context matters here. Puerto Rico came out of a particularly rough flu season: the epidemic declared in January 2026 left tens of thousands of cases and hundreds of hospitalizations before Health officially ended it in March, though the virus never fully stopped circulating ¹. With that recent history in mind, the Department of Health began distributing this season's flu vaccine in the first weeks of August, and it is now available at community pharmacies, pharmacy chains, private clinics, and providers within the Plan Vital network ¹. The flu vaccine is recommended from six months of age, though neither it nor the COVID-19 vaccine is a school requirement in Puerto Rico, since both are considered seasonal vaccines outside the mandatory immunization schedule ¹.

As for COVID-19, the federal approval came with specific names attached: Moderna's Spikevax and mNexspike, the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, and Novavax-Sanofi's Nuvaxovid, all targeting the XFG strain ². Eligibility varies by product. All four are approved for people 65 and older with no additional condition required. Spikevax is available from six months through 64 years for people with a high-risk condition; mNexspike and Nuvaxovid from 12 through 64 years with high-risk conditions; and the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine from five through 64 years with high-risk conditions ². The FDA justified the update by noting that COVID-19 remains a serious public health threat, responsible for up to 2.3 million outpatient visits and 250,000 hospitalizations in the United States over the past year ². One technical detail worth flagging for anyone following this closely: mNexspike uses just one-fifth of the mRNA dose used in Spikevax, because it encodes only specific spike protein domains rather than the full protein ².

On the island, as of September 3 the Department of Health still did not have exact figures on how many people had received the new COVID-19 formula, precisely because of how recent the federal approval was, though it confirmed that some providers had already begun receiving product and that the request process for more supply was underway ¹. As a demand benchmark, during the 2025-2026 season a total of 67,269 people in Puerto Rico got vaccinated against COVID-19 with the previous formula ¹. And the urgency is not just rhetorical: in the week before this update, more than 2,000 COVID-19 cases and 52 hospitalizations were reported on the island, with the highest rates concentrated among children under 10 ¹.

What this means for you

If you are 65 or older, or live with someone in that group, you can already get vaccinated against both viruses with no additional conditions required. If you are between 6 months and 64 years old and have diabetes, asthma, an immunocompromised condition, or another recognized risk factor, you also qualify for the new COVID-19 vaccine, though the specific product depends on your age ². If you are a Plan Vital beneficiary, vaccination against both flu and COVID-19 is available through the plan's provider network, and ASES directs beneficiaries to the Department of Health's list of authorized providers ¹⁴. For parents of young children, the fact that children under 10 show the highest COVID-19 infection rates in recent weeks is reason enough not to wait until the holiday season to vaccinate the family ¹.

How to do it / Checklist

1. Confirm which eligibility group you fall into (age and risk conditions) before calling your pharmacy or doctor ².
2. Call your community pharmacy, pharmacy chain, or private clinic to confirm whether they have received the new COVID-19 formula yet; availability varies by provider as distribution continues ¹.
3. If you are a Plan Vital beneficiary, call ASES at 787-474-3300, option 1, to confirm coverage and nearby providers ⁴.
4. Ask whether you can get the flu shot and the COVID-19 vaccine in the same visit; both are available simultaneously at most vaccination sites ¹.
5. Bring your health plan or Plan Vital card, plus an ID showing your date of birth.
6. Ask that your dose be logged in Puerto Rico's Immunization Information System (PRIR, prir.salud.gov.pr) and request your vaccination record ³.
7. If you have questions about eligibility, side effects, or availability, call the Department of Health's Vaccination Division at 787-765-2929, extensions 3337 or 3338 ³.

What's next

The Department of Health is still waiting on final recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) before formally expanding the COVID-19 vaccination campaign, a step expected in the coming weeks of September ¹. In the meantime, inventory of the new formula at pharmacies and clinics is expected to widen as manufacturers complete shipments to the island. Given last season's history, when flu cases escalated into an epidemic by January, Health officials insist that vaccinating now, ahead of the colder months in the northern hemisphere, is the most effective window to reduce hospitalizations among the elderly and children ¹.

Sources

¹ Metro Puerto Rico, "Arranca la temporada de vacunación: Puerto Rico supera las 46 mil dosis contra influenza y se prepara para nueva formulación contra COVID" (September 3, 2026) ² Healio, "FDA approves latest round of COVID-19 shots" (August 28, 2026) ³ Puerto Rico Department of Health, Vaccination Division ⁴ Administración de Seguros de Salud (ASES), ases.pr.gov