A Better Flu Shot?

The New York Times  Sep. 3, 2014 By Judith Graham

The New England Journal of Medicine verifies that Fluzone High-Dose does indeed prevent influenza in older adults, reducing cases of the flu by 24 percent compared with the standard version.

“The truth is we have very little evidence about the extent to which flu vaccine works in older adults” because “good, randomized controlled studies have never been done in the older population,” said Lisa Jackson, the senior investigator for immunization studies at Group Health Research Institute in Seattle.

The CDC nonetheless continues to recommend annual flu shots for all older adults. There is no evidence that the high-dose vaccine causes unusual side effects. “If you can get the high-dose vaccine, it’s probably going to work better than the standard dose,” Dr. Osterholm said.