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WHAT TO KNOW
Everyone 6 months and older should get a flu vaccine every season with rare exceptions. Vaccination is particularly important for people who are at higher risk of serious complications from influenza
Flu Vaccine
A number of flu vaccines will be available this season. These include:
- injectable flu vaccines, or flu shots. These include:
- Flu shots that are made with inactivated influenza viruses.
- One flu shot that is made without influenza viruses.
- A live attenuated influenza vaccine, which is given by nasal spray.
People who can get the flu shot
Everyone 6 months and older should get a flu vaccine every season with rare exceptions. Vaccination is particularly important for people who are at higher risk of serious complications from influenza.
Flu vaccination has important benefits. It can reduce flu illnesses, visits to doctor’s offices, and missed work and school due to flu, as well as make symptoms less severe and reduce flu-related hospitalizations and deaths in people who get vaccinated but still get sick.
Get vaccinated before flu season starts
It takes about two weeks after vaccination for antibodies that protect against flu to develop in the body.
Recommended vaccines depend on a person’s age and other characteristics
- There are standard-dose inactivated flu vaccines that are approved for people as young as 6 months of age.
- Some vaccines are only approved for adults. For example, the recombinant flu vaccine is approved for people 18 years and older, and the adjuvanted and high-dose inactivated vaccines are approved for people 65 years and older.
- For people younger than 65 years, CDC does not recommend any one flu vaccine over another.
- For adults 65 years and older, there are 3 flu vaccines that are preferentially recommended. These are Fluzone High-Dose inactivated flu vaccine, Flublok recombinant flu vaccine, and Fluad adjuvanted inactivated flu vaccine. If none of the 3 flu vaccines preferentially recommended for people 65 years and older is available at the time of administration, people in this age group can get any other age-appropriate flu vaccine instead.
- For many people who are 2 years through 49 years of age, the nasal spray flu vaccine is an option. The nasal spray vaccine is not recommended for some groups, such as people who are pregnant and people with some medical conditions.
- In general, each person should get an age-appropriate flu vaccine (that is, one that is approved for their age). However, solid organ transplant recipients who are 18 through 64 years of age and who are receiving immunosuppressive medication regimens may receive high-dose inactivated flu vaccine or adjuvanted inactivated flu vaccine (which are currently approved for people ages 65 years and older). These vaccines are not preferred over other age-appropriate flu vaccines but are acceptable options for this population.
- High-dose inactivated flu vaccine, recombinant flu vaccine, and adjuvanted inactivated flu vaccine are preferred for people 65 years of age and older. There are no other preferential recommendations for specific flu vaccines for specific groups of people.
There are many vaccine options
- Pregnant people and people with certain chronic health conditions should get a flu shot.
- People with egg allergy may get any vaccine (egg-based or non-egg-based) that is otherwise appropriate for their age and health status. Beginning with the 2023-2024 season, additional safety measures are no longer recommended for flu vaccination of people with an egg allergy beyond those recommended for receipt of any vaccine, regardless of the severity of previous reaction to egg.
The most important thing is for all people 6 months and older to get a flu vaccine every year.
When to get vaccinated against flu
For most people who need only one dose of influenza vaccine for the season, September and October are generally good times to be vaccinated against influenza. Ideally, everyone should be vaccinated by the end of October. Additional considerations concerning the timing of vaccination for certain groups of people include:
- Most adults, especially those 65 years and older, and pregnant people in the first or second trimester should generally not get vaccinated early (in July or August) because protection may decrease over time. However, early vaccination can be considered for any person who is unable to return at a later time to be vaccinated.
- Some children need two doses of influenza vaccine. For those children, it is recommended that the first dose be given as soon as vaccine is available because the second dose needs to be given at least four weeks after the first. Vaccination during July and August also can be considered for children who need only one dose.
- Vaccination during July and August also can be considered for people who are in the third trimester of pregnancy during those months, because this can help protect their infants for the first few months after birth (when they are too young to be vaccinated).
People who SHOULD NOT get a flu shot
- Children younger than 6 months of age are too young to get a flu shot.
- People with severe, life-threatening allergies to any ingredient in a flu vaccine (other than egg proteins) should not get that vaccine. This might include gelatin, antibiotics, or other ingredients.
- People who have had a severe allergic reaction to a dose of influenza vaccine should not get that flu vaccine again and might not be able to receive other influenza vaccines. If you have had a severe allergic reaction to an influenza vaccine in the past, it is important to talk with your health care provider to help determine whether vaccination is appropriate for you.
People who should talk to their health care provider before getting a flu shot
Different influenza vaccines are approved for use in people in different age groups. In addition, some vaccines are not recommended for certain groups of people. Factors that can determine a person’s suitability for vaccination, or vaccination with a particular vaccine, include a person’s age, health (current and past) and any allergies to influenza vaccine or its components.
- Children younger than 6 months of age are too young to get a flu shot.
- People with severe, life-threatening allergies to any ingredient in a flu vaccine (other than egg proteins) should not get that vaccine. This might include gelatin, antibiotics, or other ingredients.
- People who have had a severe allergic reaction to a dose of influenza vaccine should not get that flu vaccine again and might not be able to receive other influenza vaccines. If you have had a severe allergic reaction to an influenza vaccine in the past, it is important to talk with your health care provider to help determine whether vaccination is appropriate for you.
Prioritized for flu vaccination during a vaccine shortage
When vaccine supply is limited, vaccination efforts should focus on delivering vaccination to the following people (no hierarchy is implied by order of listing):
- Children aged 6 months through 4 years (59 months);
- People aged 50 years and olderA;
- People with chronic pulmonary (including asthma) or cardiovascular (except isolated hypertension), renal, hepatic, neurologic, hematologic, or metabolic disorders (including diabetes mellitus);
- People who are immunosuppressed due to any cause, including immunosuppression caused by medications or by human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection;
- People who are or will be pregnant during the influenza season and people up to 2 weeks postpartum (after delivery);
- People who are aged 6 months through 18 years who are receiving aspirin or salicylate-containing medications and who might be at risk for experiencing Reye syndrome after influenza virus infection;
- People who are residents of nursing homes and other long-term care facilities;
- American Indian or Alaska Native persons;
- People with extreme obesity (body-mass index [BMI] is 40 or greater);
- Health care personnel;
- Household contacts and caregivers of children under 5 years and adults 50 years and older; and
- Household contacts and caregivers of people with medical conditions that put them at increased risk for severe illness from influenza.
