Cvs Flu Shot Mercury Free

Table 1 Influenza Vaccines United States 202021 Influenza Season*

Abbreviations: ACIP = Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices FDA = Food and Drug Administration HA = hemagglutinin IIV3 = inactivated influenza vaccine, trivalent IIV4 = inactivated influenza vaccine, quadrivalent IM = intramuscular LAIV4 = live attenuated influenza vaccine, quadrivalent MDV = multidose vial NAS = intranasal PFS = prefilled syringe RIV4 = recombinant influenza vaccine, quadrivalent SDV = single-dose vial.

* Vaccination providers should consult FDA-approved prescribing information for 202021 influenza vaccines for the most complete and updated information, including indications, contraindications, warnings, and precautions. Package inserts for U.S.-licensed vaccinesexternal icon. Availability and characteristics of specific products and presentations might change and/or differ from what is described in this table and in the text of the full report.

§ The dose volume for Afluria Quadrivalent is 0.25 mL for children aged 6 through 35 months and 0.5 mL for persons aged 3 years.

I’ve Heard There Are Different Flu Vaccines Available Which One Is Right For Me

There are several different flu vaccines, and your pharmacist or other healthcare provider can help find the right vaccine for you. The CDC recommends that everyone age 6 months and older receive the flu vaccine each year. The CDC does not recommend one flu vaccine over another the most important thing is that you get a flu vaccine every year.

All flu vaccines are quadrivalent , meaning they are designed to protect against four different flu viruses. The flu shots are injections that are administered into your upper arm. The flu shots do not contain a live virus and are either inactivated or recombinant .

There is also a nasal spray. The nasal spray contains live-attenuated influenza virus and is quadrivalent. The nasal spray flu vaccine may be an option for healthy people between the ages of 249, who aren’t pregnant or have a weakened immune system.

People who are 65 years and older have additional options. Older adults have the option of receiving either a high-dose or adjuvanted flu vaccine. These flu shots are specifically formulated for seniors and, in past studies, have demonstrated better protection against the flu in persons age 65 and older.

Reaction At The Injection Site

The most common side effect of the flu shot is a reaction at the injection site, which is typically on the upper arm. After the shot is given, you may have soreness, redness, warmth, and in some cases, slight swelling. These effects usually last less than two days.

To help reduce discomfort, try taking some ibuprofen before getting your shot.

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Is There Mercury In The Flu Shot

Vials of vaccine that contain more than one dose contain thimerosal, which is a mercury-based preservative. These multi-dose vials have a preservative because every time a needle enters the vial there is a risk of introducing bacteria or fungi, which could be dangerous. Thimerosal protects the vaccines from contamination. Our bodies remove thimerosal quickly and easily, so it does not stay or build up in our system. Flu vaccines available as single-dose, pre-filled syringes and nasal spray formulations of the flu vaccine do not contain thimerosal.

Can You Get The Flu From The Flu Shot

No, you cannot get the flu from the flu vaccines. Flu vaccines given with a needle are made with either inactivated viruses or with only a single protein from the flu virus. The nasal spray vaccine contains live viruses that are weakened so that they will not cause illness.

While some people may experience a low-grade fever or body aches as a side effect, that does not mean the vaccine gave them the flu. For example, if you got sick with the flu shortly after receiving a flu vaccine, it means you were exposed to the flu before your body had the chance to fully develop the antibodies needed. It takes about two weeks after receiving the vaccine before you’re protected against the influenza virus.

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Where Can You Get A Booster Shot

Amy Isler, RN, MSN, CSN, is a registered nurse with over six years of patient experience. She is a credentialed school nurse in California.

Angela Underwood’s extensive local, state, and federal healthcare and environmental news coverage includes 911 first-responder compensation policy to the Ciba-Geigy water contamination case in Toms River, NJ. Her additional health-related coverage includes death and dying, skin care, and autism spectrum disorder.

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What Should I Do If I Have Had A Serious Reaction To Seasonal Flu Vaccine

Tell your doctor what happened, the date and time it happened, and when you got the flu shot.

Ask your doctor, nurse, or health department to file a Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System form, or call VAERS at 1-800-822-7967. Reports are welcome from all concerned individuals: patients, parents, health care providers, pharmacists and vaccine manufacturers.

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Who Should And Who Should Not Get A Flu Vaccine

Everyone 6 months of age and older should get an influenza vaccine every season with rare exception. CDCs Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices has made this recommendation since the 2010-2011 flu season.

Vaccination to prevent flu and its potentially serious complications is particularly important for people who are at higher risk of developing serious flu complications. See People at Higher Risk of Developing Flu-Related Complications for a full list of age and health factors that confer increased risk.

What Is In The Flu Shot

Every year, scientists around the world do their best to get one step ahead of the flu by developing that years iteration of the flu shot. As a reminder, vaccines work by giving your body a chance to fight off an altered version of a virus or bacteria, so that if and when it encounters the live virus in the wild, it already knows how to react, and you never get sick. But whats in a flu shot is a little more complicated.

The recipe starts with the four most common influenza strains from around the world, injected into fertilized chicken eggs or mammalian cells, deactivated so it doesnt give you the actual flu, mixed with a grab-bag of preservatives, antibiotics, and sugars. This combination is then formulated for a shot or spray to make it in time for the 2021 flu season. For those science-is-fucking-awesome types out there, this is indeed awesome.

Its also complex as hell something that keeps virologists on their toes every year. Influenza strains constantly mutate, but scientists get one shot at the annual vaccine, making their best guess some 30 weeks in advance to get the flu shot out to the public.

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Flu Vaccine Ingredients: The Strains

Every year, vaccine developers take virus samples from labs across the world and mix and match them. This years vaccine relies on four viruses this is called a quadrivalent vaccine. The four viruses in the vaccine are somewhat different for the three different types of flu vaccines, which are egg-based , recombinant, and egg-free.

Those viruses are

Apdm09

First, lets break down the terminology: A refers to the type of influenza that infects birds, humans, pigs, horses, seals, and dogs H#N# refers to the different proteins found in the outer shell of the virus pdm is short for pandemic and 09 is the year of said pandemic .

This years Apdm09 component is different for flu vaccines that are egg-based compared to those that are cell-based and recombinant-based. For egg-based vaccines, the component changed from an A/Guangdong-Maonan/SWL1536/2019 pdm09-like virus to an A/Victoria/2570/2019pdm09-like virus. That means a flu strain akin to the one seen in the 2009 pandemic that was created in 2019 in a lab in Victoria is replacing the strain created in 2019 in the Maonan district of Guangdong.

For cell-based and recombinant vaccines, the component changed from an A/Hawaii/70/2019 pdm09-like virus to an A/Wisconsin/588/2019 pdm09-like virus.

The second component is a variant of the 2009 H1N1 swine flu. H3N2 was first found in pigs in 2010, then in humans in 2011. The biggest human outbreak was in 2012 with some 309 reported cases.

Influenza B

Should I Get A Flu Shot

Even healthy people can get and spread the flu. The flu can cause serious health problems, especially for those who already have a chronic illness or are too young to be vaccinated. If you catch and spread the flu to someone, it can cause a potentially life-threatening health problem, especially in those at high risk for complications. Recent studies show that flu vaccines significantly reduces the risk of flu when most circulating flu viruses are like the vaccine viruses.

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Can The Flu Shot Make You Sick

You cant get the flu from the flu shot! The vaccines are made from inactivated virus, live virus, or a single protein from the flu virus. Your body will have a natural immune response to the vaccine that may include symptoms like fever, aches, and chills. This just means that your body is creating antibodies to the virus.

Is The Flu Dangerous

The symptoms of the flu could range from mild to severe. If you get the flu, you may experience a sudden fever, cough, aches and fatigue. People who are 65 years or older, those with certain health conditions , pregnant women and young children are considered high risk and are especially vulnerable to the flu and its complications. Every year, thousands of people die in the United States due to the flu, and even more are hospitalized. Minority populations have higher rates of flu-related hospitalizations. Non-Hispanic Black people have the highest rates of flu-related hospitalizations, followed by American Indian and Alaska Native populations and Hispanic and Latino populations. Minority populations also have lower rates of flu vaccination. Flu vaccination rates for the 2019-2020 season were estimated to be 38% for Hispanic adults and 41% for non-Hispanic Black adults, compared to 53% for non-Hispanic white adults.

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How Safe Is Thimerosal

Thimerosal is used in multi-dose vials of the flu shot for delivery to multiple people. This helps ensure the purity of the vaccine from one person to the next.

Prior to the introduction of thimerosal, there were cases where a multi-dose vial was contaminated with bacteria between uses, leading to illness and even death. Preservatives became a requirement for multi-dose vaccines in 1968, although they were in use well before then.

Despite the proven safety of thimerosal in multi-dose vaccines, there were many who remained unconvinced.

In 1998, the safety of vaccines was cast into further doubt when a group of scientists in Great Britain published a study suggesting that the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine caused children to develop autism.

Although the study was published in one of the leading medical journals, The Lancet, it soon drew the ire of scientists who noted numerous flaws in the study model. By 2010, The Lancet issued a full retraction of the article and its findings.

Nevertheless, the study set off a firestorm of misperceptions that led many parents to abandon vaccines, as well as the preservatives perceived to be harmful, altogether.

As a result of the “public’s perception of risk,” as described by the World Health Organization , thimerosal was discontinued for use in most multi-dose vaccines in 2001. All other single-dose vials in the United States are preservative-free.

Types Of Covid Vaccine Available At Cvs Pharmacy

Before we wrap this session, lets take a look at the types of COVID vaccines available at CVS pharmacy. The Food and Drug Administration of the United States has approved four different types of vaccines for COVID in the United States.

Three out of four vaccines have been recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and prevention, while one vaccine, Johnson and Johnson, is not being recommended due to its severe side effects.

• Pfizer COVID vaccine
• Pfizer COVID vaccine for 5 to 11 year
• Johnson and Johnson COVID vaccine
• Moderna COVID vaccine

The Food and Drug Administration of the United States has already approved Novavax for everyone Above the age of 18 for primary doses, but the availability of that vaccine can be lifted throughout the nation. CVS might not have that vaccine available at every location.

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Eligibility For Cvs Covid Vaccine

CVS pharmacy two notes set the vaccine eligibility by itself. Similar to every other pharmaceutical company in the United States, CVS pharmacy also follows the directions given by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

• Everyone above the age of six months is eligible to receive two primary doses of the COVID vaccine.
• You should make sure there is at least an eight weeks gap between the first and second shots of the primary vaccine series.
• Everyone above the age of 5 is eligible for at least one booster shot of the COVID vaccine.
• Everyone above the age of 50 is eligible for two COVID booster shots.
• People who are immunocompromised and above the age of 12 are also eligible for two booster shots.
• There must be a gap of at least five months between the first booster shot and the last dose of the primary series.
• You should maintain at least a four months gap between the first and second booster shot.
• Johnson and Johnson vaccine is only available for people above the age of 18 and is not recommended by the Centers for Disease control and prevention.

Who Should Avoid The Flu Vaccine

The flu vaccine is very effective, but it isnt right for everyone.

Dont get the vaccine if youve had a severe allergic reaction to any ingredient it contains, including egg protein.

You also should avoid the flu vaccine if youve had Guillain-Barré syndrome. In 1976, a swine flu vaccine was linked to an increased risk for Guillain-Barré, which causes the immune system to attack and damage the protective coating around nerve cells.

Guillain-Barré syndrome causes extreme weakness and tingling in the limbs, known as severe peripheral neuropathy. It can be life-threatening in rare cases.

Theres no clear link between the current flu vaccine and Guillain-Barré. If any risk exists, its very small, affecting about 1 out of every 1 million people vaccinated.

The vaccine also isnt recommended for babies under 6 months old because it hasnt been proven safe in infants.

Talk to your doctor if you have a weakened immune system, or if you take medicine to suppress your immune system. You may not respond as well to the vaccine.

If youre sick, you might want to put off the flu shot until you feel better.

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Which Flu Shot Is Right For Me

For ages 6 months and older: Inactivated Flu Vaccine Quadrivalent is a standard dose flu shot that protects against four strains of the flu virus. State age restrictions apply.For ages 18 years and older: Flublok® is a QIV formulation that protects against four strains of the flu virus and has triple the amount of each flu strain when compared to standard QIV. Plus, it can be used for persons with known egg allergies and has been shown to be scientifically superior to the standard flu vaccine for patients 50-64 years.For ages 65 years and older: Fluzone® High Dose Quadrivalent is the only licensed high-dose inactivated influenza vaccine and creates a stronger immune response after vaccination.

Where Can I Get A Flu Shot

There are more places than ever to get your flu vaccination. Doctors offices, clinics and health departments offer the flu shot, but you may need to make an appointment in advance. Pharmacies have become an easy and convenient option to get your flu shot. At Walgreens, we offer flu shots to everyone 3 and older. You can make an appointment online, through our app or by calling 1-800-WALGREENS .

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How Effective Is The Seasonal Flu Shot

Influenza vaccine effectiveness can vary. The protection provided by a flu vaccine varies from season to season and depends in part on the age and health status of the person getting the vaccine and the similarity or match between the viruses in the vaccine and those in circulation. During years when the flu vaccine match is good, it is possible to measure substantial benefits from flu vaccination in terms of preventing flu illness and complications. However, the benefits of flu vaccination will still vary, depending on characteristics of the person being vaccinated , what influenza viruses are circulating that season and, potentially, which type of flu vaccine was used. For more information, see Vaccine Effectiveness How well does the Flu Vaccine Work. For information specific to this season, visit About the Current Flu Season.

There are many reasons to get an influenza vaccine each year. Flu vaccination is the best way to protect yourself and your loved ones against flu and its potentially serious complications.

Below is a summary of the benefits of flu vaccination and selected scientific studies that support these benefits.

• Flu vaccination can keep you from getting sick with flu.

• A 2018 study showed that from 2012 to 2015, flu vaccination among adults reduced the risk of being admitted to an intensive care unit with flu by 82 percent.