With flu season just around the corner, the goal for health experts is clear: To remove any and all barriers in order to give the public the greatest access to the 93 million doses of flu vaccines that will be available this year. But what
With flu season just around the corner, the goal for health experts is clear: To remove any and all barriers in order to give the public the greatest access to the 93 million doses of flu vaccines that will be available this year. But what exactly is in the shot that’s recommended for every single American aged 6 months and older and how can we ensure that everyone gets vaccinated? At the annual flu season and flu vaccination conference presented by the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases on Thursday, leading experts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and The American Academy of Pediatrics gathered to discuss the influenza outlook for the 2016 – 2017 season, and this year’s vaccine needs. All vaccines start with a version of the virus it’s designed to treat, which means the first ingredient of the flu vaccine is the flu virus itself. But with thousands of flu variants out there, it’s difficult for experts to predict which ones will be circulating this season. Because it can take more than 6 months to manufacture one version of the flu vaccine, a few strains are chosen in order to cover the bases. The viruses for the shot are grown in fertilized chicken eggs, the CDC reported. Flu Shot The ingredients inside the flu shot may surprise those seeking a vaccination for this year’s flu season. Photo courtesy of Pixabay, public domain Next, the virus is extracted, which is why trace amounts of egg can remain in the shot. Other ingredients may include: a dash of formaldehyde to make it water soluble into the blood, a fatty membrane called octylphenol ethoxylate, a gelatin to keep the shot stable during storage, and a preservative that keeps the entire mixture free from bacteria and fungi, according to the US FDA. The flu vaccine is fairly effective, so long as the right shot has been designed to treat the strain of virus that’s in circulation that season. At the meeting, experts warned of the importance to get the vaccination by the end of October in order to optimize protection. If an additional 5 percent of people 