As consultant pharmacists, we are often asked about vaccines. In this week’s post, we discuss the 2019-2020 influenza season. With the feel of Fall in the air, it is never too early to prepare for flu season! Every year the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provides updated guidance and answers to common questions related to the upcoming season. Are you familiar with this year’s version of the vaccine? Are you prepared to protect your staff and patients?
0

Are You Ready For The 2019-2020 Flu Season?

As consultant pharmacists, we are often asked about vaccines.  In this week’s post, we discuss the 2019-2020 influenza season.  With the feel of Fall in the air, it is never too early to prepare for flu season!  Every year the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provides updated guidance and answers to common questions related to the upcoming season. Are you familiar with this year’s version of the vaccine?  Are you prepared to protect your staff and patients?

Based on research, the vaccines contain the 3 or 4 viruses determined to be most common.  Determining the exact composition of the vaccine is always a difficult task due to the number of existing viruses and the constant changes they undergo.

The 2019-2020 recommendation is for the trivalent vaccine to be comprised of the following 3 viruses:

1. A/Brisbane/02/2018 (H1N1) pdm09-like virus (updated)

2. A/Kansas/14/2017 (H3N2)-like virus (updated)

3. B/Colorado/06/2017-like (Victoria lineage) virus

While the quadrivalent vaccine will have an additional B strain: B/Phuket/3073/2013-like (Yamagata lineage) virus.

Due to frequent changes in the H3N2 viruses and recent challenges with producing optimal vaccine viruses, The World Health Organization (WHO) delayed its decision on which H3N2 virus to use to allow for more time to research the best option.  It’s not yet known if this will impact vaccine production and availability for the season.  These vaccines are produced by private manufacturers who are anticipating providing between 162 million and 169 million doses of vaccine for the U.S. market.  Production projections are always subject to change and often get updated as the flu season progresses.  We encourage you to be proactive in order to obtain the necessary supplies and to ensure your patients and staff members are vaccinated in a timely manner.

For up to date information on flu vaccine supply, you can visit the CDC’s website by clicking here. To read the complete list of  Frequently Asked Flu Questions: 2019-2020 Influenza Season, click here.

The Consultant Pharmacists at OctariusRx provide guidance on safe medication management, survey readiness and cost savings to ambulatory healthcare facilities/surgery centers, senior care facilities and pharmacies  We also help individual patients optimize their medications to improve their quality of life and save money. Contact us for assistance.

Any health, medical or drug information on the Web Site is for informational purposes only. This information is not intended to be used, and you should not use it, as a substitute for obtaining professional healthcare advice, diagnosis or treatment. You should always seek the advice of your doctor, a pharmacist or other qualified healthcare provider for professional healthcare advice, diagnosis or treatment for any medical condition.