As this year’s flu season winds down, we’re getting amped up to prepare for the next flu season. We know it might seem early, but there’s no time like the present right?! Plus, the World Health Organization recently released their suggestions for next year. So, we’d like to get this awesome flu clinic information to you as soon as possible to let you start thinking about scheduling your clinic for this fall.
Before we dig into the predictions for next year, let’s take a look at the flu shot process itself (bear with us if this is review).
The flu shot is made out of deactivated strains of the flu. When these deactivated viruses are put into your body, you build up an immunity to that strain. Experts work hard early in the year to analyze the circulating flu strains and predict what is likely to circulate the next year. They pass this information on to the manufacturers who make flu vaccines with the deactivated versions of the predicted strains.
There are a few different types of vaccines that these manufacturers make. These different types can be based on the types of flu they cover.
Trivalent vaccines are designed to protect against three types of viruses—two influenza A viruses and one influenza B. The two primary types of influenza A, H1N1 and H3N2, are covered in the trivalent. Researchers, however, are forced to predict just one type of influenza B virus.
Quadrivalent vaccines are designed to protect against four types of viruses—two influenza A viruses and two influenza B viruses. This is obviously a wider range of protection and therefore gives recipients a better chance at avoiding the flu.
It’s important to note that in both trivalent and quadrivalent, there are different strains of each virus that is selected. For instance, this year, a different strain of H3N2 circulated than what was covered by the vaccine. This was the cause of our tough 2014-15 flu season. It's also the reason that getting the flu shot helps you to avoid complications and have less severe symptoms even if you catch a strain of flu that wasn't protected against.
Aside from the number of viruses, flu shots can differ based on the presence or absence of preservatives in the solution.
Single-dose prefilled syringe flu shots are either preservative-free or contain only traces of preservatives. This is the shot recommended for pregnant women and other high-risk populations.
A majority of shots, however, are from multi-dose vials. This is a bottle of liquid medication that contains more than one dose of the vaccine. A clean needle and syringe are used for each withdrawal, but the vials must contain a preservative—thimerosal—by FDA mandate.
So, now that we all completely understand the flu shot process (hopefully!), check out these three things you should know for your flu clinic this fall:
First: The World Health Organization has made their recommendations for the next vaccine. The vaccine should contain the strain of H3N2 that dominated the U.S. this year. It should also contain two new influenza B strains.
Second: There will be fewer producers of trivalent flu vaccines. In past years, five manufacturers have produced trivalent vaccine. Two of those are switching to production of only quadrivalent vaccine, and two suppliers are merging, leaving only two manufactures of trivalent. This could obviously limit or delay the supply of trivalent vaccine, which is the cheaper flu shot option.
Third: There is a general trend towards quadrivalent vaccine. Obviously if you can protect against four flu strains instead of three, why not do it?! As the market generally shifts towards quadrivalent, prices and distribution might change. This is definitely something we’ll keep an eye in the coming years!
So basically, all things surrounding the flu are unpredictable.
Okay, okay, that’s a bit of an exaggeration, but like the unpredictability of the flu virus, distribution can be hard to guess at too. That being said, it’s always a good idea to plan ahead and try to schedule your company flu clinic as soon as possible. The sooner you schedule, the sooner your supplier can get orders in. This will help be sure that you will get your vaccine, and that it won’t be delayed.
It’s important to safeguard your workforce so you don’t have an epidemic on your hands come flu season. So, take this information, share it with your workplace buddies, and get to talking about the upcoming flu season—even if it still seems early.
Have you scheduled your 2015 company flu clinic yet?
