Medicare Part B vaccine coverage includes four preventive shots at no cost to you: flu, pneumococcal (pneumonia), COVID-19, and Hepatitis B for people at medium or high risk.1Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Vaccine Pricing Part B also pays for certain vaccines given to treat an injury or a direct exposure, like rabies after an animal bite or tetanus after a wound, but those follow regular Part B cost-sharing rather than the zero-cost preventive rules. Everything else — shingles, Tdap, RSV, travel shots — sits outside Part B.
Flu Shots
Part B covers one flu shot per flu season, which runs August 1 through July 31.1Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Vaccine Pricing That includes the high-dose and adjuvanted versions recommended for older adults, not just the standard-dose formulation. You pay nothing for the shot or the administration fee as long as your provider accepts assignment, and no Part B deductible applies.2Medicare. Flu Shots
Pneumococcal (Pneumonia) Shots
Part B covers pneumococcal vaccines for all beneficiaries. How many shots you need depends on which vaccine your provider gives you. For adults 50 and older who haven’t previously received a pneumococcal conjugate vaccine, the CDC currently recommends one of three options: PCV15, PCV20, or PCV21.3Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Pneumococcal Vaccine Recommendations
- PCV20 or PCV21: a single dose completes your pneumococcal vaccination.
- PCV15: requires a follow-up dose of PPSV23 at least one year later. For people with certain immune-compromising conditions, a cochlear implant, or a cerebrospinal fluid leak, the minimum interval drops to eight weeks.3Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Pneumococcal Vaccine Recommendations
If you already received both PCV13 and PPSV23 at age 65 or later, your doctor may discuss whether an additional dose of PCV20 or PCV21 is appropriate.4Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Revisions to Medicare Part B Coverage of Pneumococcal Vaccinations Policy Part B covers all recommended doses with no deductible and no coinsurance.
COVID-19 Shots
Part B covers COVID-19 vaccines and their administration as a preventive benefit.1Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Vaccine Pricing You don’t need a doctor’s order. Your provider cannot charge a copayment, coinsurance, or deductible, and cannot balance bill you.5Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Medicare Billing for COVID-19 Vaccine Shot Administration If the vaccine is the only service you receive at a visit, the provider also cannot add an office visit fee.
Hepatitis B Shots
Hepatitis B is the one Part B vaccine that isn’t automatic. You must be at medium or high risk, with the qualifying risk categories defined by federal regulation.6eCFR. 42 CFR 410.63 – Hepatitis B Vaccine and Blood Clotting Factors
High-risk groups include people with end-stage renal disease, people with hemophilia who receive clotting factor concentrates, people with diabetes, people living in the same household as a Hepatitis B carrier, and residents of certain institutional settings.
Intermediate-risk groups include healthcare workers with frequent blood or body-fluid contact and, as of January 1, 2025, anyone who has never completed a Hepatitis B vaccination series or whose vaccination history is unknown.6eCFR. 42 CFR 410.63 – Hepatitis B Vaccine and Blood Clotting Factors Because most older adults either never received the series or can’t document it, the 2025 change effectively opens coverage to the majority of beneficiaries. If you qualify, Part B covers the full series at no cost.7Medicare.gov. Hepatitis B Shots One exception: if you’ve been tested and found positive for Hepatitis B antibodies, you don’t qualify, because you’re already protected.
Rabies, Tetanus, and Other Exposure Vaccines
Part B also covers vaccines that aren’t preventive but are medically necessary to treat an injury or a direct exposure. Rabies vaccine after an animal bite and tetanus vaccine after a wound are the common examples.8Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Medicare Preventive Coverage for Certain Vaccines (A54767) These are treatment, not prevention, so regular Part B cost-sharing applies: the annual Part B deductible if you haven’t met it, plus 20% coinsurance on the Medicare-approved amount.
What You Actually Pay
For the four preventive vaccines — flu, pneumococcal, COVID-19, and qualifying Hepatitis B — you owe nothing. No deductible, no copayment, no coinsurance.1Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Vaccine Pricing That covers both the vaccine itself and the fee to administer it.
Your provider must accept assignment, meaning they agree to the Medicare-approved amount as payment in full. For the vaccine product, all providers and suppliers are required to accept assignment, without exception.1Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Vaccine Pricing You should pay $0 at any Medicare-enrolled provider for these shots. If a bill shows up for one, question it before paying.
One place a charge can appear anyway: if you get a vaccine during an emergency room visit, the ER may bill a separate facility fee. The vaccine and administration remain free, but the facility fee is a different line item and can trigger cost-sharing.
Where to Get Vaccinated
Part B vaccines are available at your doctor’s office, a clinic, an outpatient hospital department, or a Medicare-enrolled pharmacy. The provider has to be enrolled in Medicare for the claim to go through.2Medicare. Flu Shots
If leaving home is difficult, Medicare pays an extra fee to the provider for in-home administration of flu, pneumococcal, or Hepatitis B vaccines. In 2025 that added payment was roughly $40 on top of the standard administration fee, bringing the total to about $74 per dose given at home.9Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. In-Home Vaccine Administration – Additional Payment You still pay nothing. The homebound standard is less strict than the one used for home health benefits; your provider needs to document the clinical reason or barrier that prevents you from getting vaccinated elsewhere.
What Part B Doesn’t Cover
Most other vaccines fall under Part D, the prescription drug benefit. Shingles, Tdap, and RSV are the common ones.10Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Medicare Part D Vaccines Since January 1, 2023, the Inflation Reduction Act has eliminated out-of-pocket costs for ACIP-recommended vaccines under Part D, so these are also free when you’re enrolled in a Part D plan.11Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Anniversary of the Inflation Reduction Act – Update on CMS Implementation
One wrinkle: Part D networks are pharmacy networks. If your doctor administers a Part D vaccine in the office, that’s technically out-of-network, and you may have to pay the administration fee upfront and seek reimbursement from your plan.10Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Medicare Part D Vaccines Getting Part D vaccines at an in-network pharmacy avoids that.
Travel vaccines like yellow fever and typhoid generally aren’t covered by Part B or Part D, because they aren’t on the ACIP routine recommendation list. Expect to pay out of pocket. Some Medicare Advantage plans offer supplemental benefits that may include travel vaccines, so check your plan’s evidence of coverage if you’re enrolled in one.
If a Vaccine Claim Is Denied
If Medicare denies a vaccine it should have covered, you can appeal.12Medicare.gov. Filing an Appeal Before you file, ask your provider for documentation that supports the claim; for a Hepatitis B denial, that usually means evidence of a qualifying risk factor. If you’re in a Medicare Advantage or Part D plan, the appeal runs through the plan rather than Original Medicare, and the plan has to explain your appeal rights in writing. Your State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) offers free counseling if you want help working through it.