The flu vaccine is the most productive way to protect yourself from the flu, so the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that anyone over 6 months of age (with rare exceptions) get a flu shot every year. .
U. S. fitness experts U. S. policymakers expect a difficult flu season to loom now that mask mandates and other COVID-19 protections — measures that had the added advantages of reducing flu rates to traditionally low levels — have largely disappeared. The right flu shot can help you become inflamed or experience potentially serious complications.
If you’re older, this annual flu shot is especially important. In past flu seasons, 70-85% of flu-related deaths and 50-70% of flu-related hospitalizations occurred in Americans over the age of 65.
The U. S. Food and Drug AdministrationThe U. S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved two types of flu vaccines particularly for others 65 years of age and older: higher-dose vaccines and standard-dose (amplified) vaccines. But in recent years, the CDC hasn’t advised older adults to opt for any of those vaccines; instead, the firm signs any licensed and age-appropriate flu vaccine, with no preference for one type over another.
The CDC replaced its previous position this year. It now recommends that, when possible, older adults opt for a higher-dose flu vaccine (Fluzone High-Dose or recombinant eggless Flublok) or a popular-dose flu vaccine with adjuvant (Fluad) instead of other types. If those vaccines are not available, the CDC recommends getting vaccinated in popular doses.
“Given their increased threat of serious illness, hospitalization and flu-related death, using those vaccines that are potentially more effective in other people 65 and older,” R said. Romero, MD, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, in a statement.
He added that the new CDC recommendations are especially notable for black, Latino and Asian seniors, who, according to the researchers, are less likely than white seniors to get those extraprotective vaccines.
Read on to learn more about the ideal flu shots for others 65 and older, adding when to get vaccinated and what side effects to expect.
As with all vaccines, standard-dose flu shots are less effective with age, according to Gregory Poland, MD, an internal medicine physician at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. called immunosenescence,” says Dr. Poland.
Higher-dose or standard adjuvant vaccines are designed to bring the poor immune formula of the elderly to life. stimulates the immune formula to produce protective antibodies.
Every flu season is different, so it’s hard to expect the effectiveness of a flu shot in a given year. However, studies have shown that in older adults, higher-dose, standard adjuvant flu vaccines can prevent you from more infections and save lives compared to standard-dose flu vaccines, says Paul Auwaerter, MD, clinical director of the Division of Infectious Diseases at Johns Hopkins Medicine in Baltimore.
The data is more productive for the higher-dose vaccine, which in one study was found to be 24 percent more effective at preventing influenza in others 65 and older than the standard-dose vaccine, according to Poland.
The higher-dose vaccine also appears to be more effective than the popular-dose vaccine in preventing other people who get the flu from leaving the hospital. In 38 states, other people age 65 and older who received the high-dose Fluzone vaccine had a lower risk of hospitalization than other people in this age organization who received the popular dose of Fluzone; this was especially true for citizens in long-term care facilities.
“These two studies were done with what’s called a trivalent vaccine: it covered two A strains and one B strain [of the flu virus],” Says Dr. Auwaerter. The highest-dose vaccine for the 2022-2023 flu season will be quadrivalent, covering 4 influenza strains, 2A and 2B, he explains. There won’t be a trivalent vaccine for the upcoming flu season, according to the CDC.
A study published in July 2020 in the Journal of Infectious Diseases found that the Fluzone High-Dose and Fluad vaccines had roughly the same functionality in preventing influenza and influenza-related hospitalizations in the elderly.
Older people who receive the flu vaccine in higher doses or with an adjuvant are more likely to report side effects than other people who receive the dose. Still, most of the other people had no side effects or mild side effects, and added pain or redness to the injection. site, headaches, muscle aches and discomfort (feeling of blasphemy).
Poland reports that it won the standard-dose and higher-dose flu vaccine. In his experience, he doesn’t think most people make a big difference when it comes to side effects.
He notes that it’s to get the COVID-19 vaccine or booster at the same time as any type of flu shot, adding the higher-dose flu shot.
Some studies published in JAMA Network Open in July of this year suggest that you’re more likely to have side effects (usually mild) if you get a COVID-19 booster and a flu shot, so if you’re involved in that, you can choose to separate them a bit.
Even though the CDC lately recommends flu shots starting at age 65 than standard-dose flu shots, those vaccines are nothing new — they’ve been around for years, Poland says.
If you first hear about the highest dose from your pharmacist or health care professional, it may only be because this is the first year the CDC recommends it preferentially, along with other vaccines designed for others 65 and older.
“That’s because they’ve decided that the power is incredible and there’s enough source to present it,” Poland says. These types of vaccines are a little more expensive than standard-dose vaccines, Medicare will cover the charge for members. , he says.
“If you list them in order of preference, my first selection would be to receive the high-dose vaccine; the next would be the recombinant or adjuvant vaccine, and the last selection would be to receive the dose vaccine; however, remember, anything is bigger than nothing,” says Poland.
Here’s also what the CDC recommends: If you’re 65 or older and can’t find a position that gives flu shots in higher doses or adjuvant vaccines in standard doses, go ahead and get the normal vaccine in standard doses.
A flu shot has advantages that go beyond reducing the risk of hospitalization or death from the flu. For example, “in other people age 65 and older, the advantages of getting a flu shot will save you an attack is equivalent to taking an aspirin, taking a beta blocker, or quitting smoking,” Poland says.
You can get a flu shot as long as flu viruses are circulating, however, when making plans, your vaccination will give you the peak of coverage at the peak of flu season, which is between December and February. Keep in mind that it takes about two weeks after vaccination for the antibodies to grow and are offering coverage.
Since immunity can decrease further in older people, it’s especially important that other people 65 and older don’t get vaccinated too soon. September and October are usually good times, according to the CDC. it makes sense to get vaccinated.
If you need to increase your chances of getting a flu shot designed for others over age 65, call your number one provider, local fitness branch, or pharmacy before scheduling an appointment.
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