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Medical Author:

Charles Patrick Davis, MD, PhD

Charles Patrick Davis, MD, PhD

Dr. Charles "Pat" Davis, MD, PhD, is a board certified Emergency Medicine doctor who currently practices as a consultant and staff member for hospitals. He has a PhD in Microbiology (UT at Austin), and the MD (Univ. Texas Medical Branch, Galveston). He is a Clinical Professor (retired) in the Division of Emergency Medicine, UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, and has been the Chief of Emergency Medicine at UT Medical Branch and at UTHSCSA with over 250 publications.

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Medical Editor:

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, Chief Medical Editor

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, Chief Medical Editor

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, is a U.S. board-certified Anatomic Pathologist with subspecialty training in the fields of Experimental and Molecular Pathology. Dr. Stöppler's educational background includes a BA with Highest Distinction from the University of Virginia and an MD from the University of North Carolina. She completed residency training in Anatomic Pathology at Georgetown University followed by subspecialty fellowship training in molecular diagnostics and experimental pathology.

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The CDC recommends that anyone (except for certain groups, see below) over 6 months of age be vaccinated against the flu. This is particularly important for certain people, including those who are at high risk of having serious seasonal flu-related complications or people who live with or care for those at high risk for serious seasonal flu-related complications. During flu seasons when vaccine supplies are limited or delayed, the ACIP makes recommendations regarding priority groups for vaccination. The most recent ACIP recommendations are as follows:

People for whom it is especially important to get the seasonal intramuscular (IM) vaccine each year are

• people who have certain medical conditions including asthma, diabetes, and chronic lung disease,
• pregnant women,
• people 65 years and older,
• people who live with or care for those at high risk for complications from flu, including
  • health care workers,
  • household contacts of people at high risk for complications from the flu,
  • household contacts and out-of-home caregivers of children less than 6 months of age (these children are too young to be vaccinated).

Intradermal shots are only recommended for adults aged 18 to 64; the intradermal shot contains the same trivalent killed virus as does the IM dose.

The same general recommendations above for IM shots were issued for people who wanted to avoid H1N1 pandemic flu infections; however, the most recent recommendations (Nov. 2009) from the CDC/ACIP were for the following high-risk people to get the H1N1 vaccine first until supplies of H1N1 vaccine became available to everyone; in future pandemics, the recommendations are likely to be similar:

• Children younger than 5 years of age but especially children younger than 2 years of age
• Adults 65 years of age and older
• Pregnant women
• People who have chronic medical conditions, including
• asthma;
• neurological and neurodevelopmental conditions (including disorders of the brain, spinal cord, peripheral nerves, and muscles such as cerebral palsy, epilepsy [seizure disorders], stroke, intellectual disability, moderate to severe developmental delay, muscular dystrophy, or spinal cord injury);
• chronic lung disease (such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease [COPD] and cystic fibrosis);
• heart disease (such as congenital heart disease, congestive heart failure, and coronary artery disease);
• blood disorders (such as sickle cell disease);
• endocrine disorders (such as diabetes mellitus);
• kidney disorders;
• liver disorders;
• metabolic disorders (such as inherited metabolic disorders and mitochondrial disorders);
• weakened immune system due to disease or medication (such as people with HIV, AIDS, cancer, or those on chronic steroids);
• people younger than 19 years of age who are receiving long-term aspirin therapy
.

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