The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) monitors certain key indicators, such as the number of “flu-related” doctor visits, laboratory testing, hospitalizations and deaths. When the indicators rise and remain elevated for several weeks, the flu season has started.
According to Mother Nature News, the CDC tells doctors they can begin administering the flu vaccine as soon as it becomes available each year, meaning that in some parts of the country, it can be as early as August. But CDC recommendations point out the vaccine can offer protection for six to eight months, so getting a flu shot too early may not be such a good idea.
Infectious disease expert Dr. Kathleen Neuzil, M.D., director of the Center for Vaccine Development at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, points out that even if you do get the vaccine early, you will still be protected later in the season.
In an editorial on flu vaccines she wrote for the Journal of Infectious Diseases, she says, “It doesn’t mean it works for six months and stops working at six months and one day. There have been certain years where the vaccine has looked like it has waned for certain people. But for the majority of seasons and the majority of people, the protection is going to last for the flu season.”
The flu vaccine for older people
Older people, especially those over the age of 65 are more apt to experience a loss of effectiveness as the flu season progresses, says Laura Haynes, an immunologist at the University of Connecticut Center on Aging. “If you’re over 65, don’t get the flu vaccine in September. Or August. It’s a marketing scheme.”
She advises seniors to get the flu vaccine between Halloween and Thanksgiving. Hayes, who specializes in working with aging populations, says this is because, in addition to becoming less effective more quickly, a number of other factors make it harder for an older person’s immune system to respond to the vaccine.
Some new flu vaccine facts based on CDC recommendations
1.0 – The CDC recommends that everyone, age 6-months and older get their flu shot by the end of October this year.
2.0 – The nasal spray flu vaccine (live attenuated influenza vaccine or LAIV) should not be used during 2016-2017.
3.0 – The flu vaccine has been updated to better match circulating viruses.
4.0 – For older people, the FLUAD™ Flu Vaccine With Adjuvant is available this year, offering a better immune response.
5.0 – The recommendations for vaccination of people with egg allergies have changed.
The bottom line in when it comes to the flu vaccine is this: it’s better to get the shot than go without. Did you know that influenza/pneumonia is the eighth-leading cause of death in the U.S.? Flu is most dangerous to young children and the elderly because of their weakened immune systems, leaving them more exposed to the serious side-effects of the flu.
