Get your flu shots now
With the approach of October comes the approach of “flu season,” and the advice of many medical professionals across the country regarding the influenza vaccine can be summarized in three words.
“Get it now,” Jackson County Health Nurse Angie Reith said of this year’s vaccine for influenza, commonly referred to as “the flu.”
Officials from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) agree, noting that while flu activity in the U.S. is “low overall” at the present time, localized influenza outbreaks in this country are “not unusual for September.” The “flu season” as it’s recognized by health and medical professionals generally begins in October and continues through the next May, it was noted.
But for healthy people receiving this year’s flu vaccine, even at this early point in the “flu season,” Reith said the vaccination should offer adequate protection against identified viruses throughout the entire season.
“We know that everyone’s body reacts differently to things and produces antibodies against the flu at different levels,” she said. “So a healthy person who's vaccinated in good general health, without any chronic health conditions, should definitely be protected throughout the flu season.”
Flu vaccines are currently available, and in varying formulations for different age groups, Reith said. One particularly new kind of vaccine that’s available is called “high-dose,” and it is generally formulated for senior citizens and people with “weakened immune systems.”
“We know that older people and people with weakened immune systems sometimes do not produce the antibodies after they're vaccinated,” she said. “The high-dose vaccine gives them a stronger immune response so that they can develop stronger antibodies.”
Another change in available vaccines this year involves recommendations for people with allergies to eggs, Reith noted. In the past, the CDC had encouraged people with egg allergies to contact their doctor prior to vaccination since vaccines are grown in chickens’ eggs.
But this year, people who have only experienced hives after exposure to egg products may be vaccinated in any setting other than an inpatient or outpatient setting at a hospital or clinic, according to the CDC.
“The CDC has lifted some of the restrictions for people who have egg allergies this year,” she said. “People who previously were unvaccinated due to an egg allergy have the potential this year to go ahead and be vaccinated. But that needs to be discussed with your doctor, or they can call our office and we're happy to discuss that with them.”
One particular type of vaccine that the CDC does not recommend for use this year, however, is the live-attenuated influenza vaccine, or LAIV, which is administered as a nasal spray. Reith said concerns have been raised by CDC officials about the effectiveness of LAIV based on analysis of post-vaccination immunity levels in people.
Influenza vaccines are generally “trivalent” — meaning vaccines are engineered to prevent infection by three different flu strains that are predicted to be prevalent during the flu season. CDC officials said this year’s vaccine should protect against two “A” viruses (those capable of affecting animals as well as people and are generally more responsible for flu epidemics) and one “B” virus (those that do not mutate as quickly as “A” viruses and are found only in humans).
All of the 2015-16 influenza vaccine is being made to protect against an A/California/7/2009 (H1N1)pdm09-like virus, an A/Hong Kong/4801/2014 (H3N2)-like virus and a B/Brisbane/60/2008-like virus (B/Victoria lineage). Some of the 2016-17 flu vaccine is “quadrivalent” and also protects against an additional B virus (B/Phuket/3073/2013-like virus), with viruses generally named after their point of origin.
The California virus was also used in last year’s vaccine, as were the B viruses, it was noted, although the Brisbane virus was used in the quadrivalent vaccine and the Phuket virus was used in the trivalent vaccine. Each year’s vaccine is the result of “educated estimates” of the flu viruses expected to be prevalent during that year’s flu season, it was reported.
Reith echoed the CDC’s recommendation that all persons six months of age and older get vaccinated, and the shot is especially recommended for those at higher risk of severe influenza and their close contacts, including health care personnel and children younger than six months of age who normally come into contact with them.
Adults and older children only need one vaccine each season, although some children younger than nine years of age may need two, it was reported. Also, people undergoing chemotherapy treatments, having underlying health conditions or running a high fever are advised to contact their doctor before receiving the vaccine.
Reith said the Jakcson County Health Department is looking at possible dates for future vaccination clinics in the county’s smaller communities; one has already been scheduled from 11 a.m. to noon on Monday. Vaccines will also be available at the health department’s office, located at 312 Pennsylvania Ave. in Holton.
