WASHINGTON — This flu season there’ll be a whole slew of different shot options to protect against influenza.
“There’s not one choice for everybody, there’s a best choice for each individual,” says vaccine expert Dr. Gregory Poland with the Mayo Clinic.
Among the new options are shots and nasal sprays that protect against four different influenza strains, compared to the usual three.
“We’re not very good at guessing which of the B strains is going to circulate,” says Poland. So four-in-one vaccines include both B strains which children tend to come down with more frequently.
There also are shots specifically tailored to older people.
“When you’re over 65, you don’t respond to the standard flu vaccine very well. So, they’ve created a vaccine that has four times the usual dose,” says Poland.
There also are two new vaccines for people with egg allergies. For people scared of needles, some shots are available in micro needles that go no farther than the skin’s surface.
Instead of a one size fits all approach, Poland says the flu vaccine options are “a very real example of the incredible advances happening in medicine.”
Poland believes all these new options will help better protect people and help prevent the spread of this season’s flu.
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