MISSOULA — MISSOULA – We answer your medical questions every Wednesday on Montana This Morning during Morning Rounds.
If you have a question that you’d like us to answer, just send us an email at morningrounds@kpax.com .
Dr. Blair Davison with St. Patrick Hospital breaks down what you need to know about this year's flu vaccine during the Oct. 9, 2019 edition of Morning Rounds.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more information about this year's flu vaccine on their website, including the following:
A few things are new this season:
- Flu vaccines are updated to better match viruses expected to be circulating in the United States.
- The A(H1N1)pdm09 vaccine component was updated from an A/Michigan/45/2015 (H1N1)pdm09-like virus to an A/Brisbane/02/2018 (H1N1)pdm09-like virus.
- The A(H3N2) vaccine component was updated from an A/Singapore/INFIMH-16-0019/2016 A(H3N2)-like virus to an A/Kansas/14/2017 (H3N2)-like virus.
- Both B/Victoria and B/Yamagata virus components from the 2018-2019 flu vaccine remain the same for the 2019-2020 flu vaccine.
- All regular-dose flu shots will be quadrivalent. (No trivalent regular-dose flu shots will be available this season.)
- All recombinant vaccine will be quadrivalent. (No trivalent recombinant vaccine will be available this season.)
- All four of the vaccine viruses used to produce cell-grown flu vaccine will have been grown in cells, not eggs.
- In January 2019, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a change in dose volume for Fluzone Quadrivalent, a quadrivalent inactivated influenza vaccine.
- The change in dose volume affects children 6 through 35 months of age.
- Previously, children in this age group were recommended to receive 0.25 milliliters of this vaccine per dose.
- Children 6 through 35 months of age may now receive either 0.25 milliliters or 0.5 milliliters per dose.
- There is no preference for one or the other dose volume for this age group. All persons 36 months (or 3 years) of age and older should receive 0.5 milliliters per dose.
