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CDC: Don't skip this year's flu shot
The 2011-12 flu vaccine protects against seasonal flu and H1N1, just like last year's, but that doesn't mean it's OK to skip your yearly flu shot, researchers from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warn.
The fact that the vaccines are identical does change things slightly for children aged 6 months to 8 years. Last year, children should get two doses of the flu shot administered at least four weeks apart, but they will only need one dose of the 2011-2012 vaccine. Children in that age range who did not get the flu vaccine last year need two doses this season.
Last month, the CDC said the targeted flu strains for 2011-2012 are:
-- A/California/7/09 (H1N1)
-- A/Perth/16/2009 (H3N2)
-- B/Brisbane/60/2008
Dr. Lisa Grohskopf, an epidemiologist at the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, stressed the importance of getting the 2011-2012 flu vaccine. "If we are looking on an individual basis, we can't tell how quickly antibodies will decay after the vaccine, but we do know that immune response will drop over the course of a year," she said.
-- A/California/7/09 (H1N1)
-- A/Perth/16/2009 (H3N2)
-- B/Brisbane/60/2008
Dr. Lisa Grohskopf, an epidemiologist at the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, stressed the importance of getting the 2011-2012 flu vaccine. "If we are looking on an individual basis, we can't tell how quickly antibodies will decay after the vaccine, but we do know that immune response will drop over the course of a year," she said.
Source:USAToday