Basic precautions, such as flu vaccine, go far in protecting you, your co-workers and your customers from the flu.
Although flu season technically doesn’t begin until October, it is time to start planning. From gloves, masks and table paper to hand hygiene solutions and surface disinfectants, sales reps can help their customers take steps toward protecting their patients from the flu this fall. Reps should also take steps to protect their own health.
Annual vaccination against influenza is key in protecting oneself from the disease, says the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Although experts can never predict how a particular flu season will play out, they do know this: When more people are vaccinated per CDC recommendations, fewer people are likely to contract the disease and there is less opportunity for it to spread.
Influenza is a serious disease that can lead to hospitalization and sometimes even death, says the CDC. “An annual seasonal flu vaccine (either the flu shot or the nasal-spray flu vaccine) is the best way to reduce the chances that you will get seasonal flu and spread it to others,” according to the CDC’s website. “When more people get vaccinated against the flu, less flu can spread through that community.”
How vaccines work
Flu vaccines cause antibodies to develop in the body about two weeks after vaccination. These antibodies protect against infection from the viruses that are in the vaccine. Each year, manufacturers develop a flu vaccine designed to protect against the influenza viruses determined to be most common during the upcoming flu season. Trivalent vaccines – or traditional flu vaccines – are engineered to protect against three flu viruses: influenza A (H1N1) virus, influenza A (H3N2) virus and influenza B virus. Sometimes a quadrivalent vaccine is developed to protect against a fourth flu virus as well.
Trivalent flu vaccines include:
- Standard-dose trivalent shots manufactured using virus grown in eggs. These are approved for people six months and older.
- Standard-dose trivalent shots containing virus grown in cell culture, which is approved for people 18 years and older.
- Standard-dose trivalent shots that are egg-free, approved for people between the ages of 18 and 49 years.
- High-dose trivalent shots approved for adults 65 years and older.
- Standard-dose intradermal trivalent shots, which are injected into the skin instead of the muscle and require a smaller needle than traditional flu shots. This is approved for adults between the ages of 18 and 64.
Quadrivalent flu vaccine, which protect against two influenza A viruses and two influenza B viruses, include:
- Standard-dose quadrivalent shots.
- Standard-dose quadrivalent flu vaccines that are given as a nasal spray, approved for healthy people between the ages of two and 49 years. (Healthy indicates people who don’t have an underlying medical condition that predisposes them to influenza complications.)
When is it right to vaccinate?
Vaccine shipments generally began in late July and August, and continue through September and October, until all vaccine is distributed. Ideally, people should be vaccinated by October. However, as long as flu viruses are circulating, vaccination should continue to be offered throughout the flu season – sometimes as late as January or February, when flu activity typically peaks. Because it takes about two weeks after vaccination for antibodies to develop in the body that protect against influenza virus infection, the CDC recommends early vaccination to protect people before influenza begins spreading in their community.
For more information about vaccines available for the 2014-15 flu season, visit http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/rr6207a1.htm?s_cid=rr6207a1_w#Tab1.
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