HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — Doctors and health departments around the state are pleased to see the West Virginia Department of Health’s annual respiratory vaccine guidelines released as healthcare providers try to advise patients on what they do and don’t need.
Cabell-Huntington Health Department Physician Director Dr. Michael Kilkenny said before the guidelines came out, it had been difficult to know what to go by.
“We have had so much different messaging given to us, much different information. People saying this. People saying that. We didn’t have a set group of guidelines that we could use,” he said.
Kilkenny believes the guidelines were delayed because arguments over their content needed to be decided in Washington, DC, and said that in most years, they would’ve been in place already.
“Most of the time by early September we have, pretty much, the set respiratory guidance. The changes that are occurring at the federal level have caused a little bit more disruption in that kind of delivery of the guidance,” he said.
Regardless of when they came out, Kilkenny is happy to see the guidelines in place and notes that having a baseline is a good place to start.
“The West Virginia State Health Department has given us those guidelines, and they’re very useful,” he said.
The 2025-26 guidelines recommend the seasonal flu vaccine for anyone over six months of age without a contraindication, RSV vaccination for infants and older adults, and COVID-19 vaccination for anyone over six months of age based on consultation with a doctor.
Kilkenny said for the COVID-19 vaccine, it’s important for people to talk to their physician and then make a decision.
“The science behind the vaccine is backing that up from the professional agencies that have done that best work, and I think that these are trustworthy agencies that have been working together for a long time,” he said.
Kilkenny points out that in his experience, there is starting to be less demand and more skepticism for vaccines. He doesn’t believe there’s a valid reason for that development.
“We’re getting less interest from people about the vaccines. We’re seeing a higher level of distrust for the vaccines, and that’s just really not warranted,” he said.
The full respiratory vaccine guidelines are available through the West Virginia Department of Health.