SAN ANTONIO — Last year the triple pandemic of flu, RSV, and COVID was a rough one for health officials. This year is expected to be just as bad.
This year is expected to be a bad one because our flu season is based on what is happening in the southern hemisphere flu season right now, and kids are being hit hard.
Dr. Jason Bowling is an infectious disease specialist with University Health, and Professor of Infectious Diseases with UT Health San Antonio.
"We tend to follow the southern hemisphere because it tends to be our best preview, a glimpse of what we might expect for the northern hemisphere," he explained.
Most people should get one flu shot, ideally in September or October. Some children under 9 will need two different flu shots, four weeks apart. The number of doses depends on the child's prior vaccination history, with the first dose given as early as possible.
"The biggest difference is for kids that have never had the flu vaccine before, and it's generally recommended that they get a two dose kind of lead in series so that they have a better immune response," Dr. Bowling added.
Two changes have been made to this year's quadrivalent flu vaccine, the H1N1 strain has been swapped out.
"So two strains of a flu, a two strains of a flu B, And the idea there is to try and help better match what's going to circulate, because every flu season, there's a few different strains that are circulating," Dr. Bowling added.
Also, now it has been determined that those with egg allergies can take the egg-based vaccine. About 1/5th, or 170 million flu vaccines distributed in the U.S. will be egg free. New this year those with an egg allergy may get any vaccine, egg-based or egg-free. The reason, additional safety measures are no longer needed regardless of any previous reaction to an egg-based vaccine.
"They've noted that even with people who have reported egg allergies, they've tended to receive the vaccine and not really have significant side effects," Dr. Bowling added.
For the updated COVID vaccine, Dr. Bowling says it should be out next month, and for both kids and adults they should wait for that one, and it is safe to get both the COVID shot and flu shot at the same time.