Immunization Clinic

Answer: Flu can be a serious disease, particularly among young children, older adults, and people with certain chronic health conditions, such as asthma, heart disease or diabetes. Any influenza virus infection can carry a risk of serious complications, hospitalization or death, even among otherwise healthy children and adults. Therefore, getting vaccinated is a safer choice than risking illness to obtain immune protection.

Answer: Flu vaccines cannot cause flu illness. Flu vaccines given with a needle (i.e., flu shots) are made with either inactivated (killed) viruses, or with only a single protein from an influenza virus. The nasal spray vaccine contains live viruses that are attenuated (weakened) so that they will not cause illness.

Answer: Flu vaccine effectiveness can vary. The protection provided by a flu vaccine varies from season to season and depends in part on the age and health status of the person getting the vaccine and the similarity or "match" between the viruses in the vaccine and those in circulation. During years when the flu vaccine match is good, it is possible to measure substantial benefits from flu vaccination in terms of preventing flu illness and complications. However, the benefits of flu vaccination will still vary, depending on characteristics of the person being vaccinated (for example, their health and age), what influenza viruses are circulating that season and, potentially, which type of flu vaccine was used.

Answer: People should get a flu vaccine every year for optimal protection against flu. CDC recommends a yearly flu vaccine for everyone 6 months and older with rare exception. The reason for this is that a person’s immune protection from vaccination declines over time, so an annual vaccination is needed to get the “optimal” or best protection against the flu. Additionally, flu viruses are constantly changing, so the vaccine composition is reviewed each year and updated as needed.

Just because you have not had the flu before does not mean you can't get it this flu season. There is no way to know if you will get the flu the flu this year or not, or how severe you illness will be. As you get older, you are at a higher risk  of complications, including hospitalization or even death. You could also have problems even after  you recover from the flu itself that could impact what you can do in your everyday life. 

Answer: Findings from vaccine safety monitoring systems and scientific studies have shown that flu vaccines have an excellent safety profile. Hundreds of millions of Americans have safely received flu vaccines for more than 50 years. The body of scientific evidence overwhelmingly supports their safety.

CDC and FDA monitor the safety of flu vaccines. FDA must license the vaccine, and it must be appropriate for the recipient's age and health status before it can be made available for public use. 

Answer: A randomized efficacy study published in the New England Journal of Medicine indicated that the trivalent high-dose vaccine was 24% more effective in preventing flu in adults 65 years and older relative to a standard-dose vaccine. In the United States, Fluzone High-Dose vaccine is approved for people 65 years and older. 

Fluzone High-Dose vaccine contains four times the antigen, the part of the vaccine that helps your body build up protection against influenza viruses, compared to Fluzone (standard-dose) vaccine and other standard-dose inactivated flu vaccines. The higher dose of antigen in the vaccine is intended to give people 65 years and older a better immune response to vaccination, and therefore, better protection against flu.