Flu Vaccine 2021-2022 Season: Updates

It’s fall, which means it’s time to think about flu season. Each year, the Food and Drug Administration’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC) makes the recommendation for the flu vaccine composition for US flu vaccines. Although at this time the number of flu cases reported is relatively low, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, 2021b) is still recommending that everyone receive a flu vaccine.

So, what is different this season?

The Committee Has Recommended:

• A vaccine to cover four strains or a quadrivalent vaccine. Nine versions from different manufacturers of this vaccine have been released for the 2021-2022 season.
  • Recommended for the 65 years or older population
• The vaccine may be egg-based or cell-or recombinant based
  • The egg-based formulation includes coverages for:
    • an A/Victoria/2570/2019 (H1N1) pdm09-like virus
    • an A/Cambodia/e0826360/2020 (H3N2)-like virus
    • a B/Washington/02/2019- like virus (B/Victoria lineage)
    • a B/Phuket/3073/2013-like virus (B/Yamagata lineage)
  • The cell-or recombinant based formulation includes coverages for:
    • an A/Wisconsin/588/2019 (H1N1) pdm09-like virus
    • an A/Cambodia/e0826360/2020 (H3N2)-like virus
    • a B/Washington/02/2019- like virus (B/Victoria lineage)
    • a B/Phuket/3073/2013-like virus (B/Yamagata lineage)
• A trivalent vaccine may also be available
  • A(H1N1) pdm09
  • A(H3N2)
  • B/Washington/02/2019-like virus (B/Victoria lineage)

(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 2021)

These recommendations include two updates compared with 2020-2021 US flu vaccines. Both the influenza A(H1N1) and the influenza A(H3N2) vaccine virus components were updated (CDC, 2021).

When to Get Vaccinated:

Children:

should be vaccinated as soon as the vaccine is available, which may be July or August. Some children will need two doses; one as soon as it is available and one four weeks later. Contact the child’s provider to decide which dosing the child should get (CDC, 2021).

Adults:

should be vaccinated in September and October. Women in the third trimester of pregnancy should consider early vaccination (July/August) to protect the unborn child (CDC, 2021). Ideally, everyone should be vaccinated by the end of October (CDC, 2021).

It is important to note, that flu activity has been decreased since March 2020, and therefore, immunity is decreased. This could lead to an early and severe flu season (CDC, 2021).

You Should Know:

• You can get a COVID-19 vaccine at the same time as your flu vaccine
• It is not known if being sick with the flu can affect the risk of getting COVID
  • Symptoms are similar-get tested
• People with confirmed or suspected COVID should NOT get a flu vaccine until the COVID isolation period is over
  (CDC, 2021)

We are in week 45 of the flu season, with 702 cases reported to date; this represents 0.7% of the total specimens submitted for diagnostic testing (CDC, 2021b).

While the season is presenting slow and relatively mild, you as a healthcare worker should be recommending flu vaccines for everyone; if they do not have a condition that is known to be a contraindication to the vaccine.

Take care! Vaccinate!

^References

^{Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (2021). Frequently asked influenza (Flu) questions: 2021-2022 season.  CDC. (2021b). Weekly U.S. Influenza Surveillance Report.}