Influenza Vaccination is the best Prevention

by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

Seasonal influenza is among America's most lethal killers, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), because the virus infects so many people-5 percent to 20 percent of the U.S. population every year. Most people who get this contagious respiratory illness caused by the influenza virus recover in a week or two without complications. But each year, more than 200,000 people have complications severe enough to send them to the hospital. And another 36,000 die each year from seasonal influenza.

Ninety percent of the deaths occur in those ages 65 and older, but the highest rates of infection occur in children. And healthy children younger than 2 years are as likely to land in the hospital because of influenza as those over 65.

"Vaccination remains the single most effective preventive measure available against influenza, and can prevent many illnesses and deaths," says Jesse Goodman, M.D., director of the Food and Drug Administration's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER). Yet each year, millions of Americans choose to take a chance and forgo influenza vaccination.

Public health officials urge those eligible for vaccination to receive it and remind people that although influenza vaccination begins in September or October each year, vaccine continues to be available in November, December, and later, and immunization during those months is still beneficial.

The CBER regulates vaccines for use in the United States and is responsible for their safety and effectiveness.

Who should get vaccinated?

Vaccine is available to anyone who wants to reduce his or her chances of getting influenza, with a few exceptions, but the CDC strongly recommends it for the following groups of people:

• All children 6 months to 59 months of age-a new recommendation for this influenza season
• Women who will be pregnant during the influenza season
• People ages 50 years and older
• Children and teen-agers (ages 6 months to 18 years) who must take aspirin regularly and therefore might be at risk for developing Reye syndrome if they get influenza
• Adults and children ages 6 months and older with chronic heart or lung conditions, including asthma
• Adults and children who have required hospitalization or regular doctor visits during the past year because of chronic metabolic diseases, including diabetes, kidney disease, hemoglobin abnormalities, or weakened immune system
• People with any condition that makes it hard to breathe or swallow, such as brain injury or disease, spinal cord injuries, seizure disorders, or other nerve or muscle disorders
• Residents of nursing homes and other facilities that provide care for people with chronic medical conditions
• Healthy household contacts and caregivers of children up to 5 years old and people at high risk for severe complications from influenza
• Health care workers.

Since no influenza vaccine is approved for children younger than 6 months of age, families should use a strategy known as "cocooning," says William Schaffner, M.D., professor and chairman of the Department of Preventive Medicine at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Nashville, Tenn. "They should provide a cocoon, or zone of protection, around that very vulnerable young child by vaccinating all the other people in the family, including grandma and granddad who come in for visits, and out-of-home caregivers. "

How well does influenza vaccine work?

Infection-fighting antibodies develop about two weeks after vaccination.

Studies have shown that influenza vaccine is 70 percent to 90 percent effective in healthy adults younger than 65. In older people, children, and those with chronic illnesses, the vaccine may not necessarily prevent influenza, but it can reduce the severity of the symptoms and the risk of complications if they do get sick.

Vaccination in people older than 65 reduces the likelihood of hospitalization for influenza-related complications by 30 percent to 70 percent. And for those living in nursing homes or other long-term care facilities, the vaccine is up to 80 percent effective in preventing death from influenza.

Two types of influenza vaccine

The FDA has licensed two types of influenza vaccine for use in the United States: the "shot" and the inhaled vaccine.

The shot contains inactivated, or killed, viruses and is given with a needle in the arm. The inhaled vaccine contains live viruses that are weakened and is administered into the nose with a sprayer. The influenza shot can be given to those 6 months of age and older, including healthy people and those with medical conditions. The inhaled vaccine is approved only for healthy people between the ages of 5 years and 49 years, excluding pregnant women.

Can the influenza vaccine cause influenza?

Some people may get a mild fever, body aches, and fatigue for a few days, but you can't get influenza from the influenza shot, says Karen Midthun, M.D., the deputy director for medicine in the FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research. "No vaccine is 100 percent effective. So you may get the flu soon after you received the vaccine, before it could be expected to protect you. It does not mean the shot gave you the flu."

In addition to the influenza shot, an inhaled influenza vaccine is approved by the FDA. The inhaled vaccine does not cause influenza in healthy people, the only group for which it's approved.

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