Flu, COVID and RSV Shots in Fredericton This Fall: The 2026-27 Season, Explained

When it starts

The province had not announced the 2026-27 start date when we checked on September 19; its influenza page, updated September 16, says vaccine will be available beginning mid-October, and the pharmacy program describes an October start that varies by year. The precedent is clear enough to plan around: in 2025 the campaign opened on Tuesday, October 14, and the online booking system opened eleven days earlier, on October 3. When the 2026 release lands, it will be on the Government of New Brunswick news page and the NB Pharmacists Association site within the hour, and this page will update the same day.

Why mid-October and not September: flu protection fades over the winter, and the province wants it strongest in January and February, when the flu season here actually peaks. Getting the shot in the first two weeks of the campaign is the sweet spot for seniors; anyone else has until spring, since the program runs to July 31, but the crowds and the wait are lightest in the first month.

Who gets what, free

Flu: free for all New Brunswick residents six months of age and older. The province's 2026-27 products, confirmed in September: for ages two to sixty-four, Fluviral and Fluzone; for 65 and over, Fluad, the adjuvanted vaccine that gives an older immune system a stronger response (New Brunswick uses the adjuvanted shot rather than the high-dose one some other provinces offer, so if a relative in Ontario is talking about high-dose, this is our equivalent); and for needle-averse children two to seventeen, FluMist, the nasal spray. This year's shot is trivalent: two A strains and one B. Pharmacists are paid $16 a dose by the province and cannot charge you extra.

COVID-19: also free for residents six months and older, with Moderna and Pfizer products; the province's COVID page still showed last season's formula when we checked, and the 2026-27 update should follow the flu announcement. Pharmacies can give it from age two.

RSV, adults: free and one-time (not annual) for anyone 75 and over living in the community who has not already had it, for residents 60 and over of nursing homes and adult residential facilities (through Extra-Mural), for hospitalized patients 60 and over awaiting placement, and for Indigenous adults 60 and over. The vaccine is Abrysvo, and pharmacies give it to the 75-plus group. If you are 65 and healthy and living at home, you are not yet eligible for the free shot; ask your pharmacist about paying for it.

RSV, infants: a different product, nirsevimab (Beyfortus), an antibody rather than a vaccine, free for babies born on or after April 1, 2026 who are under eight months in their first RSV season, and for high-risk children under two in their second season. The program starts mid-October for a season that runs November to March, and it is given through Public Health offices, primary care, obstetric and newborn units and midwives, not pharmacies.

Where to get it in Fredericton

Pharmacies are where most of the city gets its shots. Nearly every pharmacy in Fredericton participates, from the chains on Prospect and Main to the independents, and the province runs a single booking site for all of them: schedule.ableassess.com. Pick flu, COVID or both, pick the pharmacy, pick the slot. Some pharmacies take walk-ins once the first rush passes; the province's own language is that pharmacies may require an appointment, so book if you can. Pharmacists vaccinate from age two.

Public Health is where children from six months to under five go, along with anyone who prefers a nurse. The Fredericton office is at 300 St. Mary's Street, Suite 1200, 506-453-5200. Appointments, not walk-ins.

Your own doctor or nurse practitioner if you have one; many family practices run flu clinics in late October. If you do not have one, NB Health Link (1-833-354-2300, weekdays 9 to 4) is the province's program for the unattached, and it can vaccinate its patients. Student health services at UNB and STU vaccinate students. Long-term care residents are done on site. School clinics are not for flu: those are the Grade 7 (HPV, Tdap) and Grade 9 (meningococcal) programs.

What to bring, and what it costs if you are not from here

Bring your New Brunswick Medicare card; the pharmacy bills the province against it. Wear a short sleeve. If you are getting flu and COVID at the same visit, you can; the province and the pharmacists both offer them together, one in each arm, and the side-effect profile is the same as either alone. Plan fifteen minutes of sitting afterward on the first visit for a new product. If you have a fever, reschedule; a cold is fine.

Visitors, students from other provinces and anyone without a Medicare card are not covered by the New Brunswick program. Out-of-province Canadian students can usually get the shot billed to their home plan or pay a modest fee; ask the pharmacy what it charges before you book, since we could not find a published price. Tele-Care 811 is the line for questions about reactions afterward.

Timing it: a Fredericton calendar

Early October: booking opens; grab a slot for the first campaign week if you are over 65, pregnant, immunocompromised or living with a chronic condition, since those are the groups the province and the pharmacists most want done first. Mid-October: the campaign opens; the first two weeks are the busiest at the big pharmacies and the quietest at the independents. By Remembrance Day: a reasonable target for everyone else, because it puts you two weeks past the shot by the time the December crowds, the craft fairs and the Christmas concerts start passing germs around. Babies born since April: book the RSV antibody with Public Health or your provider in October; the season starts November 1. Any time to July 31: the program stays open, and January is not too late if you missed the fall.

The questions people actually ask the pharmacist

Is the nasal spray as good as the shot? For children two to seventeen it is an accepted alternative and the province funds it for the needle-averse; ask for it by name. Can I get flu, COVID and RSV in one visit? Flu and COVID yes, routinely. RSV is often given at the same visit too; the pharmacist will decide based on your history. I had COVID in August; do I still need the fall shot? The usual advice is to wait a few months after an infection, so ask. My child is four; where do we go? Public Health, 300 St. Mary's Street, 506-453-5200; pharmacies start at two but many prefer to send under-fives to the nurses. I'm 70 and want the RSV shot. You are not in the free group yet (it starts at 75 in the community); the pharmacy can sell it to you. Does the shot give you the flu? No. It can give you a sore arm and a tired day, which is your immune system doing exactly what you paid it nothing to do.