6 Facts You Should Know About 2016 Flu Vaccines

With fall in full swing, flu season is around the corner. Public health officials are beginning to urge everyone 6 months and older to get a flu shot before Oct. 31. 

Here are six facts officials are sharing about the 2016 flu vaccine:
 

1. Flu vaccine rates last year were low. Just 45.6 percent of individuals 6 months and older were vaccinated in 2015--a drop of 1.5 percentage points from the previous year. Reports about the ineffectiveness of last year's flu vaccine may have been responsible for the decline, officials say.
   
    
2. Increasing the flu vaccination rate by just 5 percent this year could prevent 800,000 illnesses and roughly 10,000 hospitalizations.
   
    
3. According to Tom Frieden, MD, director of the CDC, it is "way too early" to tell if the 2016 flu vaccine will cover this season's predominant strains. However, he says, "we anticipate it will be a good match" as it matches the strains that circulated at the end of flu season last year.
   
    
4. For 2016, there are two new types of flu vaccines available to the public. One version is made with virus grown in cell culture, which is different from the more traditional egg-based method. That vaccine is approved for use in people 4 years old and older. The other version is made specifically for people 65 years old and older.
   
    
5. As the CDC said previously, the U.S. has advised against use of the nasal spray version of the flu vaccine, known as the live attenuated influenza vaccine or LAIV. Studies have called the nasal spray's efficacy into question. Last year, roughly a third of children who got a flu shot did so with the nasal spray. "We do hope to get an effective nasal spray back on the market as soon as possible," Dr. Frieden said, but officials stressed injectable flu vaccines are safe and effective in children. 
   
    
6. Although some doctors expressed concern that the lack of nasal spray vaccine would cause a flu vaccine shortage, officials do not anticipate that being a problem this year. Already, 93 million doses of injectable vaccines have been delivered to providers, and they estimate that up to 168 million doses will be available this flu season.

To learn more about the 2016 flu vaccine, read the full article.