CDC urges flu shots, not spray

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday recommended that everyone 6 months or older get this year’s flu vaccine. But officials warned the public not to get the nasal version, which is known as FluMist, because studies showed it didn’t work.

No shortages of the injectable version of the flu vaccine for the 2016-17 flu season are expected. The flu season is inherently unpredictable, officials said, but they hope this year’s version will be a good match. When the vaccine is well matched, it tends to be about 50 to 60 percent effective.

Last year’s total U.S. vaccination rate was 45.6 percent, down 1.5 percentage points from the previous year. While coverage data showed vaccination rates for children remained steady, health officials were concerned that immunization rates for adults 50 to 64 years old dropped 3.4 percentage points, to 43.6 last year.

While 63.4 percent of people 65 and older get vaccinated, a relatively high figure, rates still dropped 3.3 percentage points from the previous year. Children between the ages of 6 and 23 months had the highest rates of any age group at 75 percent.

Physicians stressed the need for all people — but particularly the elderly, pregnant women and people with compromised immune systems — to get the vaccine as soon as possible.

“If we could increase vaccination coverage in the country about 5 percent more … that would prevent nearly 800,000 illness and 10,000 hospitalizations” each year, Dr. Tom Frieden, director of the CDC, said Thursday.

Health officials said two new vaccines will be available this season. One is an inactivated four-strain shot grown in a cell culture rather than the traditional egg-based process that prompts allergies in some people. The other, which is licensed for people 65 and older, includes an ingredient that helps boost the immune system, which is less robust in older adults. That makes them not only more likely to get the flu, but also less likely to respond to vaccination.

More important than choosing between the different versions, doctors recommended getting the vaccination that is available.