Studies have revealed that influenza vaccination prevents medical visits and hospitalizations.3
- During the 2015-2016 influenza season in the United States, the vaccine reduced outpatient influenza visits in adults by 53% for influenza B viruses and by 51% for influenza A viruses.3
- The flu vaccine offered significant protection against influenza hospitalizations in the United States, including among adults over the age of 65. It reduced influenza hospitalizations by 50% among all adults and by 50% among adults >65 years of age (influenza A and B viruses).3
- Flu vaccines have also been shown to be highly cost-effective in the prevention of acute myocardial infarction, particularly for high-risk people.4
FDA APPROVED INFLUENZA VACCINES IN THE UNITED STATES, 2020–2021 INFLUENZA SEASON5
TRADE NAME
MANUFACTURER
AGE RANGE
Afluria® Quadrivalent
Seqirus
6 months and older
Fluad®
Seqirus
65 years and older
Fluad® Quadrivalent
Seqirus
65 years and older
Fluarix® Quadrivalent
GlaxoSmithKline
6 months and older
Flublok® Quadrivalent
Sanofi Pasteur
18 years and older
Flucelvax® Quadrivalent
Seqirus
4 years and older
FluLaval® Quadrivalent
GlaxoSmithKline
6 months and older
FluMist® Quadrivalent
AstraZeneca
2 through 49 years
Fluzone® High-Dose Quadrivalent
Sanofi Pasteur
65 years and older
Fluzone® Quadrivalent
Sanofi Pasteur
6 months and older
HOW INFLUENZA VACCINES WORK
About two weeks after vaccination, flu vaccines cause antibodies to develop, protecting the body from infection from the viruses that are in the vaccine.1
Seasonal flu vaccines protect against the influenza viruses that surveillance indicates are likely to be circulating in the upcoming flu season.1
Quadrivalent vaccines are made to protect against four flu viruses: two types of influenza A viruses (H1N1 and H3N2) and two types of influenza B viruses. Trivalent vaccines are made to protect against three flu viruses: the same influenza A viruses included in the quadrivalent vaccine and one influenza B virus.1
Preventing influenza helps reduce the potential loss of function in older adults. Sadly, approximately 14.6% of older adults hospitalized with influenza experience catastrophic disability, which is defined as a loss of independence of three or more basic activities of daily living (personal care and hygiene, mobility and being able to get in and out of bed or up from a chair or sofa, toileting, bathing and feeding).6, 7
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommends that all people 6 months of age and older receive an annual flu vaccine. 1
CLICK HERE for the latest ACIP recommendations on seasonal influenza vaccines
EVIDENCE-BASED RESOURCES
From the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- Influenza Vaccination: Information for Healthcare Professionals (web section)
- Prevention and Control of Seasonal Influenza with Vaccines: Recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices — United States, 2020–21 Influenza Season
- Recommended Adult Immunization Schedule for ages 19 years and older, United States, 2020 (PDF)
From the Immunization Action Coalition
- Influenza Vaccine Products for the Influenza Season (PDF)
- Free, ready-to-print influenza educational materials for healthcare personnel and patients (web section)
- Ask the Experts: Influenza (web section where IAC experts answer questions for healthcare professionals about influenza disease and vaccines)
- Influenza Vaccine web page (with links to many additional IAC influenza resources)
- Vaccine Information Statement (VIS) for Inactivated or Recombinant Influenza (Flu) Vaccine (PDF)
- Vaccine Information Statement (VIS) for Inactivated or Recombinant Influenza Vaccine — Translations in more than 30 languages (web page)
From the Literature
IAC and Seqirus are not responsible for content found at external links.1. Key Facts About Seasonal Flu Vaccine. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/flu/prevent/keyfacts.htm. Accessed October 2020. 2. Flu Vaccination Coverage, United States, 2018–19 Influenza Season. https://www.cdc.gov/flu/fluvaxview/coverage-1819estimates.htm. Accessed October 2020.
3. Ferdinands J, Gaglani M, Martin E, et al. Prevention of Influenza Hospitalization Among Adults in the United States, 2015–2016: Results From the US Hospitalized Adult Influenza Vaccine Effectiveness Network (HAIVEN). Journal of Infectious Diseases. Volume 200, Issue 8. 15 October 2019. Pages 1265–1275. https://doi.org/10.1093/infdis/jiy723. Accessed October 2020. 4. MacIntyre CR, Mahimbo A, Moa AM, et al. Influenza Vaccine as a Coronary Intervention for Prevention of Myocardial Infarction. Heart 2016;102:1953–1956. https://heart.bmj.com/content/102/24/1953. Accessed October 2020. 5. Table 1. Influenza Vaccines – United States, 2020–21 Influenza Season, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/flu/professionals/acip/2020-2021/acip-table.htm. 6. Preventing Flu in Older Adults. Medscape. November 1, 2017. https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/887671. Accessed October 2020. 7. Tan L., How are Adult Immunizations Paid for in the United States? National Adult and Influenza Immunization Summit. http://www.allhealthpolicy.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/TAN.pdf. Accessed October 2020.