Influenza - Influenza Vaccine
Every year in the United States, influenza kills about 20,000 to 40,000 people. Last year 36,000 people died in the U.S. from influenza. Probably the best example of exactly how devastating influenza can be was the influenza pandemic in 1918 this worldwide outbreak killed 21 million people in a single influenza season. Elderly adults are the group most likely to die from influenza, but infants and young children are at risk as well. Luckily, studies show that immunization of infants and young children with influenza vaccine not only decreases their hospitalization from influenza but it also decreases the hospitalization and death from influenza in elderly adults.
How is the influenza vaccine made?
The influenza vaccine is probably the hardest vaccine to make. The vaccine is made by growing influenza virus in hen’s eggs, purifying it, and completely killing it with a chemical. The influenza vaccine is unusual in that each year a different vaccine is made. Every year in the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) determines what types of influenza we’re at risk from and makes sure that all the influenza vaccines that are made that season will protect us.
Does the influenza vaccine have side effects?
Side effects from the influenza vaccine are extremely rare. Fever or muscle aches can occur but these symptoms do not mean that you have “the flu.” Because the vaccine virus is “killed”, it does not cause symptoms, such as congestion and cough, which are common with influenza infections. Because the vaccine is grown in eggs, those with severe egg allergies may experience an allergic reaction to the vaccine. If you have egg allergies, please contact your doctor before getting a flu shot.
Do the benefits of the influenza vaccine outweigh the risks?
The influenza vaccine can cause mild side effects. In some case severe side effects do occur, but when they do they can be treated. On the other hand, influenza is responsible for about 200,000 hospitalizations and 20,000 deaths every year. Each year about 150 children died from influenza, most were previously healthy and many were less than two years old. Therefore, the benefits of the influenza vaccine clearly outweigh the risks.
Why can’t we just make more influenza vaccine to cover a possible shortage?
To account for slight changes in the types of influenza, a new influenza vaccine is made every year. The vaccine is made over the course of an eight month period and it requires a large numbers of eggs. Unfortunately, the millions of eggs required to make this vaccine are available only during March and April.
Who should get the influenza vaccine during a shortage?
The CDC recommends that every year those at greatest risk of being hospitalized and dying from influenza get vaccinated. This includes adults older than 50 years of age, children 6 to 23 months of age, family contacts of children less than 6 months of age, healthcare workers, pregnant women, people with long-term heart, kidney, lung, or metabolic diseases, or compromised immune systems, residents of nursing homes, and those in contact with high-risk groups.
To immunize everyone who needs a flu shot, we would need 185 million doses. This year we only have 53 million doses. This means that we have to let those people who are at the greatest risk of dying from the disease stand at the front of the line. For this reason, people between 50 and 64 years of age and adults with young children should not be immunized unless there is a surplus of vaccine later in the influenza season. Sadly, many who want and need the influenza vaccine will not get it this year and may be hospitalized as a result.
Will we have influenza vaccine shortages in the future?
Shortages have been blamed on pharmaceutical companies, the Food and Drug Administration, and the CDC. But the real problem is that only a few pharmaceutical companies make influenza vaccine for the United States. And at the end of most influenza seasons, the makers of the vaccine typically destroys millions of unused doses.
More companies would make influenza vaccine - and those that made it could be counted on to make enough - if the demand for vaccine was always high. We need to be consistent in our desire to protect ourselves against influenza. Only then can we count on a having all of the vaccine that we need.
Material for this article provided by:
Paul Offit, MD, Director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, http://www.vaccine.chop.edu/