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 of the Mayo Clinic.
Among the new options are a shot 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 now 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. And for people scared of needles, a new vaccine is 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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