MIAMI – "The flu" was "everywhere" last year. A Centers for Disease Control doctor warned that the last influenza season was one of the deadliest.

That's why the CDC is urging people to act now, just before the start of the 2018-19 influenza season, and get vaccinated. This advice comes even if you have delayed the previous flu season by a few months and have been vaccinated earlier this year.

Some age groups of some vaccines have been lowered and some vaccines have been reformulated to better prevent the circulation of viruses.

One of the benefits of getting the flu shot: Getting a vaccine does not mean you will not get the flu, but if you get sick, it could be less serious, experts say.

Reduced risk of death: In addition, a 2007 CDC study found that vaccination against influenza significantly reduced the risk of dying from influenza in children. The study analyzed data from four influenza seasons between 2010 and 2014 and found that "influenza vaccination halved, or 51%, the risk of death associated with influenza in children with influenza." high-risk medical conditions and nearly two-thirds 65 percent in healthy children.

According to the CDC, vaccines to fight the flu can also protect women during and after pregnancy and protect a baby after childbirth.

The importance of taking the flu seriously is particularly relevant given the severity of the recent season. Vaccines are available in pharmacies, including those at Walgreens, CVS and most doctors' offices.

"The 2017-2018 season was the first season to be classified as being of a high severity in all age groups," said the CDC. Influenza activity increased in November, "reached a long period of high activity in January and February and remained high until the end of March," the CDC reported.

Adult deaths from influenza are not nationally notifiable, according to the CDC, but children's cases are counted. On August 25, the number of pediatric deaths attributed to influenza was 180, the worst since the death of 171 people during the particularly severe influenza season of 2012-2013.

Of the 180 children who died last year, 80%, or 144 of them, did not receive the vaccine during the season, the CDC said.

At least five children died of flu-related illnesses during the 2017-18 Florida season, including 12-year-old Dylan Winnik, 12, who died on January 23 in West Palm Beach. His mother had initially thought that he had a cold.

In addition, the duration of cases at the national level or above was 19 weeks, "making the 2017-2018 season one of the longest in recent years," said the CDC.

According to the CDC, influenza viruses are most common during the fall and winter months. Influenza activity starts to accelerate in October and November. The peak of influenza activity occurs between December and February, but can last until May.

So what will be the flu season in 2019?

The short answer, according to the CDC: "It is not possible to predict what will be the flu season. As the flu spreads each year, the timing, severity and duration of the season vary from season to season. "

New this season: But the CDC reports that there are several novelties this season. Among them:

– Influenza vaccines have been updated to better match circulating viruses. Component B / Victoria has been modified and the influenza A (H3N2) component has been updated.

– For the 2018-2019 season, the nasal spray flu vaccine – or live attenuated influenza vaccine or LAIV, often an option of choice for young children who hate injections – from 2 years of age, is recommended. The vaccine is also approved for use in non-pregnant women up to the age of 49, unless your doctor tells you about its use based on your medical history.

– All LAIV vaccines will be quadrivalent, designed to protect against four different influenza viruses: two influenza A viruses and two influenza B viruses. Most regular-dose egg-based influenza vaccines will be quadrivalent. "All recombinant vaccines will be quadrivalent. No trivalent recombinant vaccine will be available this season, "said the CDC.

– The influenza vaccine grown in cells will be quadrivalent. For this vaccine, influenza A (H3N2) and B reference viruses will be derived from cells and influenza A (H1N1) virus will be derived from eggs.

– The Intradermal Influenza Vaccine, a vaccine injected into the skin instead of the muscle using a needle smaller than the normal flu shot and requiring less antigen to be as effective as the regular flu shot, will not be available this season .

– The recommended age for the Fluarix equivalent, which uses mammalian culture rather than chicken embryos, has been changed from 3 years and older to 6 months and older.

– The recommended age for Afluria Quadrivalent, an inactivated influenza vaccination, has increased from 18 years of age to 5 years and older.

According to the CDC, "influenza vaccines protect against the three or four viruses that research suggests will be the most common".

This season, health care providers will provide vaccines in a variety of ways, such as standard dose vaccine injections into the muscles or, for some people aged 18 to 64, jet injectors, a medical device, vaccines Afluria and Afluria Quadrivalent. device that uses a narrow fluid flow at high pressure to penetrate the skin instead of a hypodermic needle.

The CDC recommends that you get vaccinated now, on the eve of the 2018-2019 influenza season, before vaccination resumes in October.

"You should get a flu shot before the flu spreads in your community," suggests the CDC. "It takes about two weeks after the vaccination for antibodies that protect against the flu to develop in the body, so plan to get vaccinated early in the fall, before the flu season starts."

In other words, by the end of October at the latest.

But if you are a procrastinator, you are always advised to get the vaccine even if it is in January or later. But the CDC advises that children are a particular concern.

"Children who need two doses of vaccine to be protected should start the vaccination process more quickly because both doses should be given at least four weeks apart."

For the most up-to-date information on influenza surveillance, the CDC regularly updates their FluView Weekly Influenza Surveillance Report.

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