It’s time to get your seasonal flu shot — not the nasal vaccine.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends everyone ages 6 months and older get vaccinated against influenza annually, unless medically unable.
But, this year, the CDC pointedly recommended that nasal vaccine not be used during the upcoming flu season — because statistics demonstrate it’s not effective for most who take it.
Hilo health providers didn’t order many nasal vaccinations, which turned out to be a good thing.
Vaccine providers typically order their supplies early each year, meaning some ordered supplies before the CDC changed its recommendations.
But the impact in Hilo likely will be low, and there will probably be plenty of flu shots for those who want them.
“Historically, we normally order not very many doses of nasal spray, just for people that don’t like injections,” said registered nurse Chad Shibuya, Hilo Medical Center’s director of infection prevention, “and we almost never give any of them.”
Another factor, said State Epidemiologist Dr. Sarah Park, is the CDC’s early coordination efforts to replace nasal-spray orders with injectable vaccine.
“Our understanding, from the CDC and manufacturers, is there should be sufficient supplies,” Park said. That means now is the time to start getting vaccinated.
It’s not currently possible to predict how bad a flu season will be, the CDC says, noting “the timing, severity, and length of the season varies from one year to another.”
Flu typically begins spreading anytime between early October and May. But Park said Hawaii’s season typically lags behind the mainland. Still, the CDC recommends everyone get vaccinated by the end of October. It takes two weeks after vaccination for immunity to build.
Health officials recommend even people who got delayed should still get vaccinated, because people who get a vaccination before being exposed to the season’s flu can still build immunity.
There’s one group of people in particular that Shibuya hopes will step up and get flu-prevention shots.
“We’re really trying to encourage health-care workers to get it, because we work with a lot of sick people, and we don’t want to spread this around the hospital,” he said.
He emphasized that misconceptions can be hard to overcome. For example, it’s not possible to catch influenza from the flu shot — because the injectable vaccine uses a killed form of the virus.
Shiigi Drug Company Pharmacist Michele Yonemori said that, right now, the injectable vaccine supply looks adequate. But flu seasons — and demand — are unpredictable.
“So I’m not sure what’s going to happen,” Yonemori said.
Patients seeking a vaccination can check availability with their pharmacist or health provider.
Park said Hawaii typically ranks among the three top states in terms of success getting kids under age 18 vaccinated. That happens through the school-based Department of Health vaccination program.
But Park encourages parents to go ahead and get kids vaccinated, even before school vaccinations start, if the opportunity arises.
Especially because school influenza vaccinations will probably be late this year, Park said. Health officials just took a breath, after handling dengue fever, when the hepatitis A outbreak occurred. That might delay the school vaccination program against flu.
Park said most kids aren’t intimidated by an injection versus nasal mist.
“They’re pretty strong. It becomes a badge of honor to show off their bandage,” she said.
