New questions will come up for the 2016-2017 flu season.
All the flu vaccines will include some new strains this year.
When should I vaccinate? Feel comfortable starting now...and encourage patients to get vaccinated by the end of October. Tell them the flu vaccine is usually effective for AT LEAST 6 to 8 months.
Continue vaccinating as long as flu is circulating...even in spring.
Which flu vaccine should I give? Explain there's no preference for one injectable flu vaccine over another...but watch for some caveats.
If patients ask, explain that the intranasal flu vaccine (FluMist) isn't recommended by CDC this year...due to concerns about poor efficacy.
Offer a quadrivalent vaccine if the patient prefers it. Explain that the extra B strain might increase protection...depending on which strains circulate this year. And kids seem to have a higher risk of complications and death from B flu strains.
But tell patients it's better to get vaccinated now than to seek out a quadrivalent. The good news is over half of this year's supply will be quadrivalent...and its cost is now similar to the trivalent.
Which vaccine should patients 65 and older get? Help them compare the options...the new Fluad, Fluzone High-Dose, or a standard flu shot.
Fluad is a standard-dose trivalent vaccine for seniors, but with an adjuvant...a substance added to the vaccine to boost immune response.
Think of Fluad as an alternative to Fluzone High-Dose...since immune response to the flu vaccine weakens with age.
It's too soon to say if Fluad prevents more cases of flu than the regular or high-dose trivalent vaccine. Fluzone High-Dose does seem to modestly decrease flu incidence compared to the standard-dose trivalent.
Explain that both Fluad and Fluzone High-Dose cause more injection site reactions than the regular vaccines. All are covered by Medicare B.
Listen to PL VOICES to hear a great discussion with a flu vaccine expert and our editors about updates for this year's flu season.
Also get our new chart, Flu Vaccines for 2016-2017...and our patient handout and other resources to address common flu questions.
MMWR Recomm Rep 2016;65(5):1. Hum Vaccin Immunother 2015;11:553. Pediatrics 2016;138:e20154643.
- PL Voices: Influenza Vaccines for 2016-2017
- Chart: Flu Vaccines for 2016-2017
- Chart: Flu Vaccination and Egg Allergy
- Checklist: Vaccine Administration Strategies
- Patient Education: What To Do If You Get The Flu