Host: Jennifer Caudle, DO

Guest: Blen Girmay, MD

Because standard-dose vaccines usually produce only modest immunogenic responses in people age 65 years and older, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, as of June 2022, recommended this age group receive either an adjuvanted or higher-dose seasonal influenza vaccine.1,2,3 A pragmatic, head-to-head randomized study compared FLUAD and the high-dose influenza vaccine over the course of two influenza seasons.2 Joining Dr. Jennifer Caudle to discuss this study and its findings from the first season (2023-2024) is Dr. Blen Girmay, a Johns Hopkins fellowship-trained primary care geriatrician at Inova Health System in Fairfax, Virginia.

References:

1. Coleman BL, Sanderson R, Haag MDM, McGovern I. Effectiveness of the MF59-adjuvanted trivalent or quadrivalent seasonal influenza vaccine among adults 65 years of age or older, a systematic review and meta-analysis. Influenza Other Respir Viruses. 2021;15(6):813-823.
2. Klein N. Oral presentation presented at: IDWeek 2024 Meeting; October 16-19, 2024. Los Angeles, CA.
3. Grohskopf LA, Ferdinands JM, Blanton LH, Broder KR, Loehr J. Prevention and Control of Seasonal Influenza with Vaccines: Recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices - United States, 2024-25 Influenza Season. MMWR Recomm Rep. 2024;73(5):1-25.