Flu Vaccination Guidelines 2025

Vaccination is recommended for all people aged 6 months and above, with priority given to the elderly, preschool children, patients with chronic diseases, and public service workers; priority is given to quadrivalent vaccines containing the four northern hemisphere epidemic strains updated by WHO this year (A(H1N1)pdm09, A(H3N2), B/Victoria lineage, and B/Yamagata lineage) In fact, the vaccine can prevent more than 80% of severe cases at less than four prices and three prices, so there is no need to wait; it can be vaccinated 14 days apart from other vaccines such as COVID-19 and HPV, and there is no need to deliberately wait longer; unless you have a hypersensitive constitution that can cause laryngeal edema and anaphylactic shock when eating eggs, ordinary people with egg allergies can be vaccinated without a skin test, and fever and acute illness can be postponed.

Last week I was at a community vaccination site to help my cousin take her 3-year-old niece to get vaccinated. I met several aunts chatting around the nurse, saying that they just got the flu vaccine last year. Do they not need to join in the fun this year? There was also a young girl who had just graduated, clutching her HPV vaccination record and asking if there would be any conflict if she got the second shot of the nine-priced flu shot last week. In fact, these questions are the most frequently asked at vaccination sites this year. When I was rotating at the district disease control center two years ago, I would receive 20 or 30 consultation calls a day just for these types of questions.

Let me tell you the truth first. Flu vaccination is required every year and it is not because businesses want to make money from you. Influenza strains mutate very quickly. The epidemic strains announced by the WHO every year are the best matches calculated based on global surveillance data. The protective period of the vaccine is only 6 to 8 months. The vaccine last year has basically no protection during this epidemic season. Grandpa Zhang, who lives downstairs in our community, was vaccinated last year. He didn’t want to go to the community this year because he didn’t want to go to the community. He was infected while dancing in the square a while ago. He had a fever for three days and suffered an acute attack of chronic bronchitis. He spent nearly 10,000 yuan in the hospital for a week. His son later told me that if I had known that I had to drag the old man to get the vaccine that costs tens of yuan, he wouldn’t have suffered such a serious crime.

There is no absolute consensus in the industry about which vaccine to choose. The mainstream approach to disease control is to get quadrivalent vaccine if you can get it. After all, it covers one more B/Yamagata strain and has a wider range of protection. However, many front-line pediatricians have mentioned that if there are already sporadic cases in the surrounding area and there are only trivalent vaccines in the community, then it is better to get the vaccine directly. If you get it early, you can generate antibodies. It is much more cost-effective than waiting ten days and a half for the quadrivalent vaccine to arrive. After all, you may get infected during that time. If you have children at home who are afraid of injections, you can also choose the freeze-dried nasal spray live attenuated vaccine that is newly popularized this year. You don’t need to stick a needle, just spray it into the nose twice. The effectiveness is not much different from that of the inactivated vaccine. The only thing to note is that children with immune deficiencies cannot choose this vaccine. Some parents think that the nasal spray is twice as expensive and there is no need to choose conventional inactivated injections. They are all compliant and effective, and there is no distinction between high and low.

There is another point that has been debated for a long time: should healthy young people get vaccinated? Many people feel that if they are in good health in their twenties and thirties, even if they get the flu, it only lasts two days, so there is no need to spend such money. This statement is not wrong. After all, the probability of severe illness in healthy people after being infected with the flu is indeed very low. However, you have to consider whether you will come into contact with the elderly and children at home. After all, the flu is too contagious. Last year, I met a young man from an Internet company who only had a fever for a day after he had the flu. As a result, he went home and infected his son who had just turned 1 year old. The child had a fever of over 39 degrees and had convulsions. He had to go to the emergency room for less than half a month. He regretted it. I suffer from it every year. Last year, half of the people in the office were infected and lay down for a week. I only sneezed twice and had a runny nose for two days, which hardly affected my work. For me, the more than 100 yuan is worth it in exchange for a few days off.

Oh, by the way, there is a new policy reminder this year: For families with babies under 6 months old, it is recommended that all co-residents, confinement sisters and other people who often come into contact with the baby get vaccinated. After all, children under 6 months old cannot get the flu vaccine. Everyone around them has been vaccinated to form an immune barrier, which is the best protection for the baby. In many areas, vaccinations for these key groups are now available through personal medical insurance accounts, without having to pay cash.

In fact, there is no need to contact the community health service center to make an appointment. This year, many cities have launched mobile vaccination van appointment mini-programs. You can often encounter them at the entrances of business districts, office buildings, and industrial parks. You can get it by swiping your ID card. Some companies can apply for group transportation and provide door-to-door service. Elderly people over 60 years old and low-income households are vaccinated for free in most areas, without spending any money. After the vaccination, remember to stay for 30 minutes before leaving. Last time I met a young man who turned around and ran away after the vaccination. He fainted before taking two steps and fell down. He received two stitches on his chin. It was really not worth the gain.

Anyway, there is never an absolute optimal solution when it comes to vaccination. You just have to choose based on your own situation. If you are really unsure, go to the vaccination site and ask the on-site medical staff. People do this every day, which is much more reliable than the half-baked popular science found online.