Infectious disease experts are cautiously optimistic the coming flu season will be milder than last year’s, citing moderate activity in the Southern Hemisphere and vaccine shots well matched to circulating strains, The New York Times reported Aug. 31.
Scientists look to countries such as Australia for early signals, and flu is circulating there at moderate levels this year, said Scott Roberts, MD, an infectious diseases professor at Yale School of Medicine in New Haven, Conn. Whether that holds as the Northern Hemisphere season unfolds is uncertain. Last season, a new variant spread widely and rapidly.
The outlook arrives alongside an expanded set of vaccine options. The FDA recently approved a new mRNA flu vaccine, fully clearing it for adults ages 50-64 and granting accelerated approval for those 65 and older. Scientists expect it to generate higher antibody levels and defend more robustly against the virus, though it may cause more mild side effects than the traditional shot, said Scott Hensley, PhD, an immunologist at Philadelphia-based University of Pennsylvania who has worked on mRNA flu vaccine development.
Traditional flu shots are available to anyone 6 months and older, and a higher-dose version is recommended for adults 65 and older. FluMist — a nasal spray for people ages 2-49 who are not pregnant or immunocompromised — can be administered at home.
President Donald Trump recently signed an executive order calling for children to receive the flu vaccine only after “shared clinical decision-making” with a clinician. The order does not change the CDC’s standing recommendation that everyone 6 months and older get an annual flu shot, ideally in September or October.
The new consultation step for children’s flu shots also lands amid a broader fight over federal vaccine guidance — one that has already prompted children’s hospitals to reject new recommendations rather than change their immunization schedules.
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