page_title: Influenza vaccine
section_title: United States
hierarchical_section_title: Influenza vaccine / Recommendations / United States
caption_attribution_description: English: A young woman shows off her flu shot after receiving vaccine at a local drug store. Other information Cropped from the original
context_page_description: Influenza vaccines, also known as flu shots or flu jabs, are vaccines that protect against infection by influenza viruses. New versions of the vaccines are developed twice a year, as the influenza virus rapidly changes. While their effectiveness varies from year to year, most provide modest to high protection against influenza. The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that vaccination against influenza reduces sickness, medical visits, hospitalizations, and deaths. Immunized workers who do catch the flu, return to work half a day sooner on average. Vaccine effectiveness in those over 65 years old remains uncertain due to a lack of high quality research. Vaccinating children may protect those around them.
  The World Health Organization and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend yearly vaccination for nearly all people over the age of six months, especially those at high risk. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control also recommends yearly vaccination of high risk groups.
context_section_description: In the United States routine influenza vaccination is recommended for all persons aged 6 months and over. It takes up to two weeks after vaccination for sufficient antibodies to develop in the body. The CDC recommends vaccination before the end of October, although it considers getting a vaccine in January or even later to be still beneficial.
  According to the CDC, the live attenuated virus (LAIV4) (which comes in the form of the nasal spray in the US) should be avoided by:
  Children younger than two years
  Adults 50 years and older
  Concomitant aspirin- or salicylate-containing therapy in children and adolescents
  Children aged two through four years who have received a diagnosis of asthma or whose parents or caregivers report that a healthcare provider has told them during the past twelve months that their child had wheezing or asthma or whose medical record indicates that a wheezing episode has occurred within the past twelve months
  Persons who are immunocompromised due to any cause (including but not limited to medications and HIV infection)
  Close contacts and caregivers of severely immunocompromised persons who require a protected environment
  Pregnant women
  Persons who have received influenza antiviral medications within the previous 48 hours
  Within its blanket recommendation for general vaccination in the United States, the CDC, which began recommending the influenza vaccine to healthcare workers in 1981, emphasizes to clinicians the special urgency of vaccination for members of certain vulnerable groups, and their caregivers:
  Vaccination is especially important for people at higher risk of serious influenza complications or people who live with or care for people at higher risk for serious complications. In 2009, a new high-dose formulation of the standard influenza vaccine was approved. The Fluzone High Dose is specifically for people 65 and older; the difference is that it has four times the antigen dose of the standard Fluzone.
  The US government requires hospitals to report worker vaccination rates. Some US states and hundreds of US hospitals require healthcare workers to either get vaccinations or wear masks during flu season. These requirements occasionally engender union lawsuits on narrow collective bargaining grounds, but proponents note that courts have generally endorsed forced vaccination laws affecting the general population during disease outbreaks.
  Vaccination against influenza is especially considered important for members of high-risk groups who would be likely to have complications from influenza, for example pregnant women and children and teenagers from six months to 18 years of age who are receiving aspirin- or salicylate-containing medications and who might be at risk for experiencing Reye syndrome after influenza virus infection;
  In raising the upper age limit to 18 years, the aim is to reduce both the time children and parents lose from visits to pediatricians and missing school and the need for antibiotics for complications
  An added benefit expected from the vaccination of children is a reduction in the number of influenza cases among parents and other household members, and of possible spread to the general community.
  The CDC indicated that live attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV), also called the nasal spray vaccine, was not recommended for the 2016–2017 flu season in the United States.
  Furthermore, the CDC recommends that healthcare personnel who care for severely immunocompromised persons receive injections (TIV or QIV) rather than LAIV.
caption: A young woman displays her bandage after receiving the vaccine at a drug store
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