Most trivalent flu vaccines are only normal strength. But the high dose flu vaccine for people age 65+ is only available in trivalent form.
If someone wants the equivalent of a high dose quadrivalent flu vaccine, would s/he have to get four regular quadrivalent flu vaccines?
Thank you.
Thanks for the correction- antigen to make the antibodies.
I walked into my grocery store pharmacy yesterday. Got my flu shot (quad) and was out in about 5 minutes (ok, I shopped for 10 minutes while they did the insurance thing.). My arm was a bit sore last night. By this morning I forgot that I had had the shot. It’s just about the biggest nothing of a shot! Tiny needle, tiny amount injected. Good grief, just get it done!
Now that CVS is in Target you can also go there if you can go to CVS. I find it much easier to wait around in a target than anyplace else if there’s any kind of line or exit for the paperwork. I can kill half an hour in a target easy. Doing that in a cvs I find annoying.
I called my doctor’s office for an appointment but was told they didn’t have it but other offices in the UCSD system did- but those offices were further away and no free parking. So I called Walgreen’s (as an ex-Chicagoan I still like them best) who said no appointment needed. In and out at the pharmacy in about 15 minutes; there was one woman ahead of me. (And her little dog, too, incidentally, not exactly what I like to see in a medical situation.) I’m on Medicare so no cost.
I took a couple of Tylenol ahead of time and after the shot walked around the makeup department waving and flexing my arm to get the vaccine flowing since I read that would help reduce the pain. Found a nice nail polish and eye shadow while I was at it, and it was 20% off Senior Day. Then I used a cold pack off and on after I got home.
The arm was sore for about three days but not enough to be any hindrance but just enough to garner sympathy from DH. I don’t usually get a flu shot and have never caught the flu. But I’m going on a cruise next month and as we all know, cruise ships are seething cauldrons of germs.
I’m getting mine tomorrow. I love the way my medical group does it. They have a flu shot clinic/assembly line every Saturday in October (and maybe into November, not sure), in the Family Practice/Internal Medicine office. You have to make an appointment. When you get there, they have someone stationed at the door of the waiting area, who gives you the form with your sticker already on it. Check the boxes, sign, then take the form back to where the exam rooms are. There are 3 or 4 nurses set up in the hallways, with their carts and piles of pre-filled syringes. No waiting. Shot, bandaid, done. The whole process takes 3 minutes.
I’m in reasonably good health at 63, and don’t really get the shot for myself at this point, so much as for immuno-compromised people in the world. I’d hate to think that I shed virus onto a store door handle or a gasoline pump which was used next by a chemo patient.
I had my one and only flu shot in 2012. I may get one this year because I expect to do some substitute “teaching” and will be in schools around kids.
I have to fight with my D every year to get her shot. I always have to come up with new inducements for her. This year, it was grandma (94) is bedridden and can’t go out to get one - do you want to be the person who brings the flu to her? We went to Costco yesterday and her bf got his shot. They didn’t take her insurance but she promised to go to CVS this week to get. When she taught, I told her it was selfish not to get the shot because what if she gave the flu to a kid who gave it to their parent who works at a job where they don’t get paid for being out sick. I used to ask her if she wanted to waste vacation days being sick - that didn’t work until she began going to Australia for 3 weeks over the winter break with her bf.
Got my flu shot today at CVS. They took my Medicare card with 0 copay. Literature says I got FLUZONE HIGH-DOSE 2018-19 SYR. No side effects yet (5 hours later).