National Influenza Vaccination Week (NIVW), December 3-9, 2017, is a national awareness week focused on highlighting the importance of continuing flu vaccination through the holiday season and beyond. We hope you will join us this year as we encourage ALL to protect themselves and their loved ones from flu this season.
There are many tools and resources to help in your efforts to share flu prevention and vaccination message or assist you in developing your own collaborative NIVW activities.
Protect your Patients from Flu this Season 
Healthcare providers caring for older adults have an important role in ensuring their patients know they are at high risk of complications if they get the flu. Getting vaccinated annually is the best way to prevent flu. Talk to your patients about the flu and what flu vaccines are available for them this season.
Individuals 65 years and older can get any injectable vaccine (flu shot) that is approved for use in that age group, with no preferential recommendation for any licensed, recommended vaccine. There are two influenza vaccines designed specifically for people 65 and older:
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- The “high dose flu vaccine” Fluzone High Dose®, contains 4 times the amount of antigen as regular flu shots. It is associated with a stronger immune response following vaccination (higher antibody production).
- The adjuvant vaccine, Fluad®, is a standard dose flu vaccine with an added adjuvant. An adjuvant is an ingredient added to a vaccine to help create a stronger immune response to vaccination
Additional Resources
The CDC will be observing NIVW and partners can participate by joining the #FightFluChat twitter chat or sharing their Flu Fighters stories on social media. Show your support for NIVW by promoting ongoing flu vaccine efforts with these NIVW communication resources.
Everyone Can Be a Flu Vaccine Advocate!
Whether you are a doctor, school nurse, grandchild, best friend, or coworker, you can play a role in reminding and encouraging other people to get their flu vaccine. CDC’s Public Health Matters blog recently posted an entry titled “Everyone can be a flu vaccine advocate!” This post encourages healthcare providers in particular to use the “SHARE” strategy for making a strong flu vaccine recommendation to patients. Read the complete blog post.
The Great Plains Quality Innovation Networks offers a wealth of free evidence-based resources to promote influenza, pneumococcal and herpes zoster vaccination best practices, guidelines and tools to break down barriers to care for disparate populations. We have also convened a Learning and Action Network (LAN) to give providers, community organizations and patients the opportunity to share and learn. Ultimately, we intend to improve access to and quality of care through our efforts. Together, we play an important role in helping to educate patients about immunization recommendations. Join our Learning and Action Network today.