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Lots of options available for new, ‘better’ flu shot






Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Tom Frieden, right, received a flu shot from nurse B.K. Morris during an event about the flu vaccine at the National Press Club in Washington. It’s time for flu shots again, and health officials expect to avoid a repeat of the misery last winter, when immunizations weren’t a good match for a nasty surprise strain. (AP Photo)

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Tom Frieden, right, received a flu shot from nurse B.K. Morris during an event about the flu vaccine at the National Press Club in Washington. It’s time for flu shots again, and health officials expect to avoid a repeat of the misery last winter, when immunizations weren’t a good match for a nasty surprise strain. (AP Photo)

WASHINGTON

Give flu vaccine another chance: This year’s version got a recipe change that should make it more effective after last winter’s misery from a nasty surprise strain of virus.

Don’t let a fear of needles stop you. Beyond the traditional shots, the squeamish for the first time could try a needle-free injection, or choose the nasal spray or tiny skin-deep needles that have been around for a while.

All told, at least 171 million doses of flu vaccine are expected this year.

“It doesn’t matter which flu vaccine you get, just get one,” said Dr. Tom Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Last fall and winter marked “a bad year for flu,” Frieden acknowledged, as a mutated strain of Type A flu began spreading widely after the vaccine doses already were brewed.

The H3N2 flu subtype always is harsh, especially for older adults, and the vaccine was only 13 percent effective against the mutated version that caused most of last year’s illnesses, he said. Typically, flu vaccine is 50 percent to 60 percent effective. Flu-related hospitalizations of seniors last year were the highest recorded in the decade that CDC has counted.

That same H3N2 strain still is circulating in other countries and even in low levels in the U.S., Frieden said.

“So far, the strains in this year’s vaccine seem likely to match,” Frieden said, stressing that CDC is closely monitoring genetic fluctuations to see if that changes.

Still, “flu is fickle,” said Dr. William Schaffner of Vanderbilt University and the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases.

The vaccine protects against three or four different strains, depending on the brand, Schaffner noted, saying that even if one strain mutates, vaccination remains “the best defense against flu.”

Some things to know about flu vaccinations:

WHO SHOULD BE VACCINATED

Everybody starting at 6 months of age, the CDC says.

Flu is especially dangerous for people over age 65, young children, pregnant women and people with chronic health conditions such as asthma or heart disease. But healthy young people can get seriously ill, too, as well as spread the disease.

CDC said last year, at least 145 children died of flu, above the yearly average of 100, a number Frieden called an underestimate. Only about half of children who die from flu have underlying health problems, noted Dr. Wendy Sue Swanson of Seattle Children’s Hospital.

WHO GETS VACCINATED

Only about half of Americans get an annual flu immunization. CDC says on average, flu kills about 24,000 people a year in the U.S .

New CDC data shows vaccination rates last year were highest for children ages 6 months to 23 months — at 75 percent, the only age group to meet public health goals. Children ages 2 to 4 weren’t far behind, at 68 percent, and 62 percent of 5- to 12-year-olds were vaccinated.

About two-thirds of seniors were vaccinated. But only about a third of adults ages 18 to 49 were, making them the least protected group.

About half of pregnant women get immunized, important not only for mom’s health but because the vaccine also protects her baby during its first six months of life, Swanson noted.

WHEN TO GET VACCINATED

About 40 million of this year’s doses already have been shipped to doctors, drugstores and other locations, and vaccinations are under way. It takes about two weeks for protection to kick in, and while flu typically peaks between December and February, there’s no way to predict when outbreaks will begin.

THE COST

Most are covered by private and government health insurance, often without a co-pay. For those paying out of pocket, prices can range between $32 and $40.

WHICH KIND TO CHOOSE

One option this year is a needle-free device called a jet injector that forces the vaccine into a stream of fluid that penetrates the skin. It is recommended for adults 18 to 64. The CDC said it can result in some of the same soreness as a traditional shot.

The nasal spray is the most widely known alternative to the traditional shot, and can be used by healthy people ages 2 to 49.

Other choices are targeted to different age groups and health conditions and


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