By Leada Gore
For most people, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has a simple message regarding flu vaccines – get one.
For people 65 and older, the message is a little more specific this year.
People ages 6 to 64 are advised to use any licensed, age-appropriate influenza vaccine. The options include inactivated influenza vaccine (IIV), recombinant influenza vaccine (RIV), or live attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV), with no preference for any one version over the other.
People 65 and older, however, are advised to get one of three higher-dose flu vaccines the CDC is recommending over the standard dose unajuvanated versions. Those vaccines are Fluzone High-Dose Quadrivalent vaccine, Flublok Quadrivalent recombinant flu vaccine and Fluad Quadrivalent adjuvanted flu vaccine. Quadrivalent vaccines contain four different strains of the influenza virus, an effort to better combat the versions expected to circulate this year.
If those aren’t available, the CDC recommends getting any available vaccine.
Flu is widespread in Alabama, one of three states currently experiencing the worst outbreaks in the U.S. Influenza typically peaks between December and February and it takes about two weeks after vaccination for flu antibodies to develop in the body so the CDC is recommending unvaccinated people to get the flu jab as soon as possible.
“While ideally it’s recommended to get vaccinated by the end of October, it’s important to know that vaccination after October can still provide protection during the peak of flu season,” CDC guidance notes.
Guidance for children
Some children will need two flu doses, the CDC reminds people.
An annual flu vaccine is recommended for most children ages 6 months and older. Children ages 6 months to 8 years receiving their first flu vaccines who have not previously received a total of two or more doses in their lives or whose flu vaccine history isn’t known, need two doses.
If your child previously got two doses of flu vaccine, they only need one dose this season.
Recommendations for a second flu shot for some children isn’t new but can be important during a heavy flu season, especially as COVID-19 continues to circulate. Children younger than 5 – especially those younger than 2 – are at higher risk of developing serious-flu related complications such as pneumonia, dehydration or sinus and ear infections.
