CDC Says “Take 3” Actions to Fight Flu
It seems as if this year’s flu season is hitting new levels and parents—especially those with younger children—should stay diligent when it comes to spotting influenza symptoms. With the emerging spread of the new variant of Coronavirus it is important to take extra precautions for you and your loved ones.
Flu is a serious contagious disease that can lead to hospitalization and even death. CDC urges you to take the following actions to protect yourself and others from influenza (flu):
- Take time to get a flu vaccine.
- Take everyday preventive actions to stop the spread of germs.
- Take flu antiviral drugs if your doctor prescribes them.
What’s new this flu season?
- Flu vaccines are updated to better match viruses expected to be circulating in the United States.
- The A(H1N1)pdm09 vaccine component was updated from an A/Michigan/45/2015 (H1N1)pdm09-like virus to an A/Brisbane/02/2018 (H1N1)pdm09-like virus.
- The A(H3N2) vaccine component was updated from an A/Singapore/INFIMH-16-0019/2016 A(H3N2)-like virus to an A/Kansas/14/2017 (H3N2)-like virus.
- Both B/Victoria and B/Yamagata virus components from the 2018-2019 flu vaccine remain the same for the 2019-2020 flu vaccine.
- All regular-dose flu shots will be quadrivalent. (No trivalent regular-dose flu shots will be available this season.)
- All recombinant vaccine will be quadrivalent. (No trivalent recombinant vaccine will be available this season.)
- All four of the vaccine viruses used to produce cell-grown flu vaccine will have been grown in cells, not eggs.
For past articles on Flu and other important topics visit our flu tips here. For more information on this year’s flu season, visit the CDC website directly here
