5 Questions on CDC Updates to COVID-19 and Flu Vaccine Guidance
Kenneth Bender, PharmD, MA
Immunization Awareness Month
Updates to CDC recommendations on influenza and COVID-19 vaccines and vaccine formulations will impact your choices during flu season this year.
New COVID-19 and influenza immunization recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will affect vaccination decisions made during the 2023-2024 respiratory virus season. The updates reflect changes in the spread of infections as well as in the development of vaccines. The following 5 questions test what you know about recommended vaccines and vaccine formulations for these 2 soon-to-be-prevalent viruses.
Question 1. COVID-19 vaccination is recommended for everyone 6 months and older who is not immunocompromised.
Question 2. Which of the following COVID-19 vaccines is/are not currently recommended?
Question 3. With the development of bivalent COVID-19 vaccines, monovalent vaccines will not be used in 2023.
Question 4. Select recommended option(s) for persons aged ≥18 years who were previously vaccinated with the Janssen adenovirus vector COVID-19 vaccine.
Question 5. Select influenza vaccine(s) preferred by the CDC for those aged ≥65 years.
Sources include the 2023 CDC Immunization Schedules for adult- and children and subsequent, interim considerations of the CDC, as well as recent meetings of the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices ( ACIP) and the FDA's Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC).
