VacciNation

Since annual flu shots help alleviate the severe disease burden on patients and the healthcare system as a whole, it’s important to make flu vaccination a part of every patient visit. Fortunately, tools like appointment reminders, in-office discussions, and infographics can help us integrate this preventative measure into routine patient care and protect them from the flu. To learn more about these strategies, Dr. Charles Turck speaks with Dr. Laila Woc-Colburn, Associate Professor at the Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta.

Vaccines play a crucial role in preventing the flu itself, but there are a lot of lesser-known benefits of flu vaccination as well, including its impact on reducing illness severity, hospitalization rates, and co-infections as well as its importance in managing chronic diseases and enhancing public health outcomes. Joining Dr. Charles Turck to examine the comprehensive advantages of flu vaccination is Dr. Darvin Scott Smith, who’s an infectious disease consultant at San Mateo Medical Center in California.

Cases of chikungunya have risen significantly in recent years, but fortunately, there are several ways we can protect our patients traveling abroad, including with a novel vaccine and other anti-mosquito measures. Joining Dr. Charles Tuck to discuss key preventive strategies for the chikungunya virus is Dr. David Hamer, Professor of Global Health and Medicine at the Boston University School of Public Health.

Cases of dengue have more than doubled since 2023, especially in endemic areas like Latin America, the Caribbean, South and Southeast Asia, and the coastal areas of Africa. This increasingly prevalence underscores the importance of knowing how to protect patients traveling abroad to those areas, which is why Dr. Charles Turck speaks with Dr. David Hamer about essential prevention strategies for dengue fever. Dr. Hamer is a Professor of Global Health and Medicine at the Boston University School of Public Health.

Travel vaccines are becoming increasingly common as they play a key role in protecting travelers abroad, but they’re only effective if patients actually receive them. That’s why Dr. Robert Walker speaks with Dr. Nic Garner, who shares best practices for counseling patients on travel vaccines. Dr. Garner is the District Support Pharmacist Leader at CVS Pharmacy in Texas with more than 10 years of community pharmacy management experience.

For optimal protection, the most prevalent flu strains are assessed every year and included in the vaccine. Here to talk about this process and the recent decision to exclude the B/Yamagata lineage from flu vaccines is Dr. Darvin Scott Smith, Infectious Disease and Geographic Medicine Consultant at San Mateo Medical Center in California.

The World Health Organization and the Vaccines and Related Biologics Products Advisory Committee recently recommended transitioning from quadrivalent to trivalent flu vaccines that exclude the B/Yamagata lineage. Explore the epidemiological data that led to this decision and counseling strategies that can help patients understand this new recommendation with Dr. Charles Turck and Dr. Christina Madison, founder and CEO of the Public Health Pharmacist.

For optimal protection, the best time for patients to receive a flu shot is between September and October, but some patients may be hesitant. In fact, flu vaccination rates have been declining since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic according to the CDC. That’s why Dr. Charles Turck speaks with Dr. Jill Foster about how we can help ensure patients receive timely and annual flu vaccinations. Dr. Foster is the Director of the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at the University of Minnesota Medical School in Minneapolis.

Influenza disproportionately affects adults 65 and older as a result of increased frequency of comorbidities and immunosenescence.1,2 It is also linked to neurologic, cardiovascular, and respiratory complications in high-risk groups, while potentially exacerbating underlying chronic medical conditions.1,2 So how can adjuvanted vaccines help patients who are affected? Dive in to learn more with Dr. Stephen Pelton, Professor of Pediatrics at Boston University Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine.

References:

1. Pelton SI, Nguyen VH, Mould-Quevedo JF. The value of influenza vaccination in the older adult population. A stochastic model estimation of the benefit of vaccination to prevent the severe outcomes in the U.S. Poster presented at: IDWeek 2023; October 11-15; Boston, MA.
2. Pelton SI, Mould-Quevedo JF, Nguyen VH. The impact of adjuvanted influenza vaccine on disease severity in the US: a stochastic model. Vaccines. 2023; 11(10):1525. https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines11101525

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How are standard versus adjuvanted influenza vaccines made? Here to break down the manufacturing process for these types of influenza vaccines is primary care physician Dr. Jason Goldman.