News & Trending Insurance News

9 Vaccines Medicare Covers for Free

You can take advantage of these free vaccines through Medicare.

By Michelle Smith

Edited by Lauren Wellbank

Updated May 23, 2025

Once you turn 65, you qualify for Medicare, which is a government-administered health care plan for seniors. Original Medicare has three parts (Part A, Part B, and Part D), which help you pay for short-term hospital stays, regular medical care, and prescription medications.

All three Medicare parts come with plenty of ways to help you stretch your retirement dollars further, including fully covering all of the most crucial vaccines recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for seniors.

Keep reading to learn about the vaccines Medicare offers for free so you can protect yourself from common illnesses without paying a single cent out of your own pocket.

If you’re over 50, take advantage of massive discounts and financial resources

Over 50? Join AARP today — because if you’re not a member you could be missing out on huge perks. When you start your membership today, you can get discounts on things like travel, meal deliveries, eyeglasses, prescriptions that aren’t covered by insurance and more.

How to become a member today:

Go here, select your free gift, and click “Join Today”
Create your account (important!) by answering a few simple questions
Start enjoying your discounts and perks!

Important: Start your membership by creating an account here and filling in all of the information (Do not skip this step!) Doing so will allow you to take up 25% off your AARP membership, making it just $15 the first year with auto-renewal.

Become an AARP member now

1. Influenza

The seasonal flu usually starts circulating around October and doesn't fade until May. Symptoms include cough, fever, muscle aches, headache, sweating, chills, and tiredness. And while the flu can seem like the common cold at first, it usually lasts longer and has more severe symptoms.

Although there's no vaccine against the common cold, there is a yearly flu vaccine that targets the most common strain of the flu likely to circulate each flu season. Since dominant strains change from year to year, you typically need a new flu shot every single year. Medicare Part B fully covers your yearly flu shot.

If you have a Medicare Advantage plan rather than Original Medicare, meaning you've opted for a privately administered Medicare plan, you'll need to check your specific plan details to find out if your yearly flu shot is covered or not. Since flu shots are considered preventative care, odds are good Medicare Advantage will cover it, but check ahead of time so you aren't surprised by an unexpected cost at the clinic.

Who really has the cheapest auto insurance in your area? Check your zip code here.

2. Pneumonia

Pneumonia is a lung infection that causes coughing and difficulty breathing. Children under five and adults aged 50 and older are most at risk of experiencing severe complications from pneumonia, which is one key reason Medicare Part B covers the pneumonia vaccines for adults.

You'll likely qualify for either a single-dose pneumonia vaccine or a two-dose series, which requires you to get two shots one year apart.

3. Hepatitis A

Hepatitis A is a liver disease that is easily transmitted through contaminated food. The Hepatitis A vaccine is commonly administered to children these days, but this wasn't always the case, so it's possible you weren't vaccinated against Hepatitis A if you were born after the mid-1990s.

Medicare Part D, which helps you pay for prescription medications, covers Hepatitis A vaccines for adults who didn't receive the vaccine as kids. Even if you were vaccinated when you were younger, you might qualify for another Hepatitis A vaccine if you're older than 65 or if you're considered high risk.

Resolve $10,000 or more of your debt

Credit card debt is suffocating. It constantly weighs on your mind and controls every choice you make. You can end up emotionally and even physically drained from it. And even though you make regular payments, it feels like you can never make any progress because of the interest.

National Debt Relief could help you resolve your credit card debt with an affordable plan that works for you. Just tell them your situation, then find out your debt relief options.¹ <p>Clients who are able to stay with the program and get all their debt settled realize approximate savings of 46% before fees, or 25% including our fees, over 12 to 48 months. All claims are based on enrolled debts. Not all debts are eligible for enrollment. Not all clients complete our program for various reasons, including their ability to save sufficient funds. Estimates based on prior results, which will vary based on specific circumstances. We do not guarantee that your debts will be lowered by a specific amount or percentage or that you will be debt-free within a specific period of time. We do not assume consumer debt, make monthly payments to creditors or provide tax, bankruptcy, accounting or legal advice or credit repair services. Not available in all states. Please contact a tax professional to discuss tax consequences of settlement. Please consult with a bankruptcy attorney for more information on bankruptcy. Depending on your state, we may be available to recommend a local tax professional and/or bankruptcy attorney. Read and understand all program materials prior to enrollment, including potential adverse impact on credit rating.</p>

How to get National Debt Relief to help you resolve your debt: Sign up for a free debt assessment here. (Do not skip this step!) By signing up for a free assessment, National Debt Relief can assist you in settling your debt, but only if you schedule the assessment.

Try it

4. Hepatitis B

Hepatitis B is also a contagious liver disease, but unlike Hepatitis A, it's transmitted through bodily fluids like blood rather than through contaminated food. If you're at relatively low risk of contracting Hepatitis B, Medicare Part D will cover the cost of the vaccine. For those with a medium or high risk, Medicare Part B will cover the cost of the vaccination at no cost to you.

5. COVID-19

After wreaking havoc worldwide in 2020, COVID-19 continues to circulate among the general population. Even though the COVID-19-related public health emergency ended in 2023, annual COVID-19 booster vaccines are still covered by Medicare Part B.

6. RSV

Respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, is a virus that can cause pneumonia. Infants are particularly susceptible to the virus, but so are adults over age 60. RSV is a particularly concerning infection for anyone with chronic lung conditions like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or asthma.

If you're older than age 60 and have a chronic lung-related condition, the CDC recommends that you prioritize getting the RSV vaccine, which is covered under Medicare Part D.

Make Money: 8 things to do if you're barely scraping by financially

7. Shingles

Chickenpox and shingles are caused by the same virus. While you won't necessarily get shingles if you've had chickenpox, it's not possible to get shingles if you've never had chickenpox, because shingles is a reactivation of the same virus. If you were vaccinated against chickenpox as a child, you don't need to worry about shingles — you're protected against the virus.

But if you weren't vaccinated or you had chickenpox earlier in life, the CDC recommends that you get the shingles vaccine. Not sure if you were vaccinated or not? The CDC reports that over 99% of Americans who were born before 1980 were unvaccinated, so if you don't have a record of getting the vaccine, err on the side of caution by getting the shingles vaccine.

Medicare Part D covers shingles vaccines for all adults age 65 and older.

8. Tdap (tetanus, diphtheria, whooping cough)

The Tdap vaccine protects you from three serious diseases in one swoop — tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis (also called whooping cough). Most people should get a Tdap booster every 10 years, so Medicare Part D should cover the cost of the shot for you more than once after you've signed up for Medicare.

9. Other vaccines

If you're traveling to a part of the world where you could be exposed to diseases that aren't as common in the U.S., the CDC might recommend that you get certain vaccines before leaving the country. If so, Medicare Part D should cover all necessary vaccines free of cost.

Earn cash back on everyday purchases with this rare account

Want to earn cash back on your everyday purchases without using a credit card? With the Discover®️ Cashback Debit Checking account (member FDIC), you can earn 1% cash back on up to $3,000 in debit card purchases each month!² <p>See website for details.</p>

With no credit check to apply and no monthly fees to worry about, you can earn nearly passive income on purchases you’re making anyway — up to an extra $360 a year!

This rare checking account has other great perks too, like access to your paycheck up to 2 days early with Early Pay, no minimum deposit or monthly balance requirements, over 60K fee-free ATMs, and the ability to add cash to your account at Walmart stores nationwide.

Don’t leave money on the table — it only takes minutes to apply and it won’t impact your credit score.

Apply for a Discover Cashback Checking account today

Bottom line

Taking advantage of Medicare's free perks can help you eliminate some money stress as you grow older and experience more health risks.

Many seniors should follow through on as many free benefits as their Original Medicare or Medicare Advantage plan provides. This way you can keep more money in your wallet and, hopefully, enjoy a longer, healthier retirement.

More from FinanceBuzz: