Influenza, commonly known as the flu, is a common and often serious disease that can cause many unpleasant symptoms, hospitalization or even death. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimates, flu deaths in the United States over a 31-year seasonal period have ranged from a low of about 3,000 to a high of 49,000 people. And here’s a fact that seniors really need to take note of – during a regular flu season, about 90 percent of deaths due to influenza occur in people who are 65 years and older. Additionally, between 50 and 60 percent of seasonal flu hospitalizations occur in those 65 years and older.
This is prime flu season, which typically begins in early October and can run as late as May, though most cases taper off in the spring. During prime season, the influenza virus circulates at higher levels than normal in the population. The flu virus is readily spread from person to person, and people older than 65 years are at a higher risk for complications from the flu.
You don’t want to be a flu statistic, so your best move is to get a flu vaccine. These vaccines are widely available, covered by nearly every insurance plan and Medicare, and are safe and extremely effective.
Why Seniors Are More at Risk from the Flu
As we age, the human immune response becomes weaker. This means that older people have a harder time fighting off infections and illnesses resulting from common viruses such as influenza. Also, an older body typically doesn’t have as great an immune response even after getting a flu vaccine, which is why there is now a vaccine especially developed for seniors that helps boost their immune response.
How the Flu Vaccine Works
Flu vaccines prompt your body to make antibodies about two weeks after you receive the flu vaccine. These antibodies help protect you against infection using the influenza viruses that are in the flu vaccine. In effect, the vaccine puts your immune system into high gear making antibodies that attack and neutralize the flu virus if you become exposed to it. Each year, the flu vaccine is made with those flu strains that are thought to be most likely to cause illness during that specific flu season.
The standard flu vaccine is known as a trivalent vaccine, because it protects against three different flu virus strains: influenza A (H1N1) virus, a second influenza A (H3N2) virus, and an influenza B virus.
High-dose Influenza Vaccine for Seniors
There is also a flu vaccine that has been especially designed for seniors, i.e. those 65 years and older. Known as the Fluzone High-Dose Seasonal influenza vaccine, it is an injectable vaccine that is made to protect against the flu season’s most common circulating flu strains.
The Fluzone High-Dose vaccine contains four times the amount of antigen (the vaccine ingredient that makes your body develop flu virus antibodies) than the normal flu shot. The reason the vaccine was developed to be stronger is so that more susceptible people, such as seniors or those with certain chronic illnesses, will have a more robust immune response. This helps fight off the flu virus if exposure does occur.
What are you waiting for? Go get your flu vaccine and enjoy a healthy and happy holiday season!