“Getting the flu shot can help either prevent the flu or if you do get the flu, giving you a less of an illness”. “And we are able to administer both flu and pneumococcal vaccines”, said attendee Parmjit Agarwal, PharmD, MBA, APhA’s Associate Director of Corporate Alliances, following Frieden’s response. Vandra Kok, clinical pharmacist for the Riverside County Regional Medical Center’s internal medicine clinic, said that the virus mutation is a speedy process and virus could mutate multiple times within one season.
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Ministry of Health figures show more people in Canterbury received an annual flu jab than any other district health board area.
South Canterbury was just behind Canterbury, with 32 per cent getting vaccinated, followed by Hutt Valley on 31 per cent.
“There was an old myth that you used to have to wait to get them but actually we believe the earlier the better”, said Dr. Kristen Carr of Carolina Health Specialists.
As a result, the 171 million flu vaccine doses produced for this season – 40 million of which have already been distributed – also contain changed components of Influenza B alongside those of H3N2.
“If healthcare providers and vaccine providers are following the proper procedures, all of last year’s flu vaccine should be off the shelves”, Rigler said.
By including components of H3N2 in this season’s flu vaccine, health care professionals hope to raise vaccine effectiveness against predominant strains back up to the 50 to 60 percent range. This was the predominant strain previous year, but the vaccine was very poorly matched to it. The 2014 influenza vaccine was only 13% effective against this strain, also known as the “Switzerland variant”. By two weeks after vaccination, the body develops antibodies to protect against the viruses in the vaccine. “I don’t think most people realize that thousands of people die every year in the United States from complications of influenza, probably more than 30,000 people”, warns Dr. Eisenson.
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“You typically see “bad” flu seasons when there’s a strain of the virus circulating to which most people haven’t been exposed”, said Vargas. “Vaccination is easier and more convenient that ever, so get yourself and your family protected”. A higher dose of antigen in the vaccine gives older individuals a better immune response, and therefore, better protection against the flu.
