It’s time for your annual flu vaccination

While COVID remains the focus of news coverage, it is important to remember that flu season is beginning. Flu activity increases in October, and peak activity is usually between December and February. 

The flu is a significant health burden in the United States. The CDC estimates that influenza has resulted in nine million to forty-one million illnesses per year, 140,000-710,000 hospitalizations per year, and 12,000 to 52,000 deaths per year. Over one hundred children per year die from the flu¹.

Seasonal influenza is a significant economic burden in the United States². One study estimated the average total cost to society and the health care system was $11.2 billion. They estimated that workers lose 20.1 million days of productivity annually.

People over 65 years of age are at higher risk of developing serious flu complications. Studies show that 70-85 percent of seasonal flu deaths have occurred in this age group. This older population accounts for 50-70 percent of flu-related hospitalizations.

In addition to older adults, the flu is more serious in people with asthma, heart disease, diabetes, pregnant women, and patients with a history of cancer. Nine out of ten people hospitalized with the flu had at least one underlying health conditions.

How to protect yourself

The CDC recommends that everyone 6 months and older get an annual flu vaccination. Scientists update the vaccines annually based on the predicted strains and are quadrivalent. (They contain two influenza A and two influenza B antigens.) While you may have vaccine hesitancy for the COVID vaccines, the influenza vaccines have a long history of safety and effectiveness.

Influenza vaccination reduces the incidence of laboratory-confirmed influenza and the risk of serious complications and death associated with influenza illness. The effectiveness of the seasonal influenza vaccine in preventing influenza illness depends on several factors, including the match between the vaccine and circulating strains and the immunologic response of the recipient. Vaccine effectiveness is greatest when the match is close, but even when it is suboptimal, vaccination still can reduce the risk of influenza-related hospitalization and death.

The CDC recommends one of three specific flu vaccines recommended for people 65 years and older over other flu vaccines. People sixty-five and older should get a higher dose or adjuvanted flu vaccine, including: Fluzone High-Dose Quadrivalent, Flublok Quadrivalent, or Fluad Quadrivalent vaccine. Existing studies suggested that, in this age group, these vaccines are potentially more effective than standard dose unadjuvanted flu vaccines.

What to do if you get sick

If you get the flu, it is important to know that there is effective medical treatment. First and foremost, please consult with a medical doctor to find the right treatment for you. There are four approved antiviral drugs that the CDC recommends treating the flu this season. One of these treatments may be suggested by your primary care provider:

• oseltamivir phosphate (available as a generic version or under the trade name Tamiflu®),
• zanamivir (trade name Relenza®)
• peramivir (trade name Rapivab®), and
• baloxavir marboxil (trade name Xofluza®)

These flu antiviral drugs are said to work best when patients take them within two days of getting sick. However, starting them later can still be beneficial, especially if the sick person is at higher risk of serious flu complications or is in the hospital with more severe illness. Consult with your physician before seeking any course of treatment.

One of the positive public health benefits of the COVID pandemic is better understanding of how to manage infections to reduce spread and to better protect co-workers. If you have the flu, you should stay home from work for at least 24 hours after your fever is gone. Consider wearing a mask, cover coughs and sneezes with a tissue, and wash your hands often.

While seasonal flu activity is low right now it is early in the season. Please consider scheduling a time for your flu vaccination. Please remember that

References

¹ https://www.cdc.gov/flu/index.htm

² https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29801998/

Please email or call if you want to set up a meeting or talk by phone.

Ralph Broadwater, M.D., CFP®

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