As fate would have it, it’s that time of year again — the dreaded flu season. It is our strong recommendation that patients 6 months old and above receive the flu vaccine, and to this end, we are offering both the flu shot and the flu mist. Although we recommend the shot, we’ve outlined the differences between both methods below:
Flu shots: We will be using the quadrivalent thimerosal-free injectable flu shots this year — quadrivalent refers to the fact that the vaccine protects against 4 strains of flu as opposed to three. Children age 6 months through 8 years who have previously received zero or one flu vaccine in their lives should be given two flu shots this year, at least four weeks apart. All other children and all adults should receive one flu shot each.
Flu Mist: The nasal spray version of the flu vaccine is back this year in limited supply — we do not recommend its use except in those patients who truly have needle-phobia. Flu mist has not been shown to be as effective as the flu shots, but we have gone ahead and ordered a limited quantity of the flu mist for those patients who simply refuse to get the shot: getting the flu mist is far more effective than getting nothing at all!
In terms of scheduling, we are offering flu vaccinations on a walk-in basis between the hours of 9-11 and 1-4.
