Also new this year: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say everyone 6 months or older should get vaccination. Plus where you can find a flu clinic.
Joe Jarvis, 90, of DeWitt, gets a new high-dose flu vaccination shot designed for senior citizens on Monday at Blessed Sacrament School. The shot was administered by Nancy Clark, a registered nurse; the clinic was put on by the Regional Medical Services.A new extra-strength seasonal flu vaccine made for people 65 and older is making its debut this flu season, but people may have trouble finding it.
Fluzone High-Dose vaccine, made by the pharmaceutical company Sanofi-aventis, contains four times more antigen — the ingredient in vaccine that boosts immunity — than regular flu vaccine. People’s immune systems weaken with age, placing them at greater risk of severe flu-related illness. A higher dose of antigen is supposed to give older people a better immune response.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the vaccine in December for people 65 and older as part of its fast-track review process. Clinical studies showed the high-dose vaccine provided better immunity than regular vaccine among people in that age group. It also produced a higher rate of non-serious adverse side effects.
The FDA is making the company do more studies to see if the new vaccine will be effective in the general population.
The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has not taken a position yet on whether older people should get the high dose vaccine.
The flu is a respiratory illness that can cause severe illness and death. Each year, the flu and its related complications cause an average of 226,000 hospitalizations and 36,000 deaths nationwide.
Just like the regular flu vaccine, the high-dose version protects against three flu strains most likely to make people sick this flu season. One of those strains is the H1N1 swine flu strain that caused widespread illness last flu season.
Whether they get the high dose or regular dose, most people will only have to get one vaccination this year. Two vaccinations were recommended last season because the seasonal flu vaccine did not provide protection against H1N1.
While doctors’ offices and other providers seem to have plenty of regular vaccine on hand, not everyone has the high dose version.
North Medical Family Physicians, one of the Syracuse area’s largest practices, is not offering it.
“I think it’s a great marketing technique, but I don’t know if it’s any better than a regular dose,” said Dr. Robert Feldman, who chairs the practice’s immunization committee. “I don’t see any strong benefit in it as of yet.”
He said the best way to prevent the flu in the elderly is to vaccinate children, who tend to spread the virus.
“If you take a village and vaccinate all the children, the amount of influenza in the elderly drops tremendously,” Feldman said. “We really need to not just immunize people over 65 or people at risk. We need to immunize almost everybody.”
In a new recommendation this season, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says everyone 6 months or older should get an annual flu vaccination.
The Onondaga County Health Department will not offer the high dose version at any of its 14 clinics scheduled from Oct. 26 through Nov. 23. Dr. Cynthia Morrow, the county’s health commissioner, said her department is waiting to see how it works.
Loretto, which has already vaccinated all its nursing home residents, is not using the new vaccine. “Our people looked at it months ago and made a decision there wasn’t enough evidence yet to back it up,” said Michael Connor, a Loretto spokesman.
The high-dose shot also is not available from Maxim Health Services, one of the nation’s biggest vaccinators that runs flu clinics in Rite Aid, Kinney Drugs, P&C Pharmacy and other chain stores.
Dr. Jeff Sneider, a solo practitioner in Syracuse, ordered 50 doses of the new vaccine for his patients.
“I think the patients who accept it will be the ones who want to be on the edge, be out front, go to the health food store and do everything right,” he said.
If the vaccine works well, Sneider said regulators may eventually allow it to be administered people of all ages who have weakened immune systems.
Regional Medical Services, a Camillus nonprofit that puts on flu shot clinics in area malls, senior centers and other locations, is offering the high-dose version. So is CNY Family Care, a large family medicine practice in East Syracuse, and Kmart pharmacies.
Pamela Wilson, director of nursing at CNY Family Care, said her practice is not automatically giving the high dose vaccine to all older patients. “If a physician feels a patient is at higher risk because they have respiratory problems, diabetes or some underlying disease process than the doctor may choose to offer them the high dose,” she said.
The high dose vaccine costs more.
Kmart is charging $45 a shot for the high dose shot, $20 more than it charges for the regular dose. The new vaccine is covered by Medicare.
James T. Mulder can be reached at 470-2245 or jmulder@syracuse.com