Posted on: 20th September, 2016

New Flu Information for 2016-2017

Getting an annual flu vaccine is the first and best way to protect yourself and your family from the flu. Flu vaccination can reduce flu illnesses, doctors’ visits, and missed work and school due to flu, as well as prevent flu-related hospitalizations. The more people who get vaccinated, the more people will be protected from flu, including older people, very young children, pregnant women and people with certain health conditions who are more vulnerable to serious flu complications. This page summarizes information for the 2016-2017 flu season.

What’s new this flu season?

A few things are new this season:

• Only injectable flu shots are recommended for use this season.
• Flu vaccines have been updated to better match circulating viruses.
• There will be some new vaccines on the market this season.
• The recommendations for vaccination of people with egg allergies have changed.

What viruses do 2016-2017 flu vaccines protect against?

There are many flu viruses and they are constantly changing. The composition of U.S. flu vaccines is reviewed annually and updated to match circulating flu viruses. Flu vaccines protect against the three or four viruses that research suggests will be most common. For 2016-2017, three-component vaccines are recommended to contain:

• A/California/7/2009 (H1N1)pdm09-like virus,
• A/Hong Kong/4801/2014 (H3N2)-like virus and a
• B/Brisbane/60/2008-like virus (B/Victoria lineage).

Four component vaccines are recommended to include the same three viruses above, plus an additional B virus called B/Phuket/3073/2013-like virus (B/Yamagata lineage).

http://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/season/flu-season-2016-2017.htm

For EZ-IZ Users

In July 2016, the federal Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) voted that live attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV), also known as the “nasal spray” flu vaccine,should not be used during the 2016-2017 flu season.

This recommendation for not using LAIV this season is based on data from recent seasons (2013-2016) showing poor or lower than expected vaccine effectiveness.

As of June 30, 2016 the availability of LAIV this autumn is unknown. However, in light of ACIP’s recommendation, MedImmune’s FluMist® will not be offered as part of the California Vaccines for Children (VFC) Program during the 2016-2017 flu season. We recognize this recommendation has implications for Immunization Programs, school-based immunization efforts and vaccine providers, as most of the vaccine supply for the upcoming flu season has already been pre-booked or pre-ordered.

California’s VFC Program will be working with CDC to replace doses of LAIV with alternatives. Based on manufacturer projections, CDC expects that supply of injectable flu vaccine doses for the 2016-2017 season should be sufficient to accommodate any changes resulting from ACIP’s recommendation. Information on which distributors are still accepting pre-booking orders for flu vaccine products can be found here.

ACIP continues to recommend annual flu vaccination with products other than LAIV for everyone 6 months and older. Vaccination is the single best way to prevent influenza, and resulting complications, including hospitalizations and death. Check out EZIZ’s Flu and Respiratory Disease Prevention Promotional materials to start planning for the upcoming flu season.

New CDC Study: Influenza Vaccination Reduces Risk of Hospitalization By More Than Half Among Seniors

August 2, 2016—A new CDC study published today in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases (CID) provides more evidence on the benefits of flu vaccination among older adults. The study looked at flu-associated hospitalizations among people 50 and older during the 2010-2011 flu season and found that people who had gotten a flu vaccine reduced their risk of flu-associated hospitalization by half. Read More Here.