Update: Action To Be Taken by Civil Surgeons Based on 2010 Recommendations for the Seasonal Influenza (Flu) Vaccine

November 2010

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) has issued updated recommendations regarding the use of the influenza vaccination for the 2010-11 influenza season.

The ACIP recommendations indicate that the 2010-11 seasonal flu vaccination is recommended for everyone 6 months of age and older unless they have a specific contraindication to flu vaccine. See Persons Who Should Not Be Vaccinated.

Based on this information, the Division of Global Migration and Quarantine of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has the following update for civil surgeons who provide influenza vaccination as part of the medical examination for status adjustment.

Effective immediately, all applicants 6 months of age or older are required to present proof of the influenza vaccine for the 2010-11 influenza season or receive a single dose of the seasonal influenza vaccine as provided in the ACIP 2010 recommendations for the influenza vaccine. The table on page 12 of the Vaccination Technical Instructions has been revised to reflect this change.

The 2010 ACIP recommendations for the influenza vaccine are available at Prevention and Control of Influenza with Vaccines, Recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), 2010 [PDF – 68 pages].

The current Immunization Schedules are available at Vaccines & Immunizations Immunization Schedules

Additional Information about 2010-11 Seasonal Influenza (Flu) Vaccination

The 2010-11 seasonal flu vaccine protects against three different flu viruses: an influenza A H3N2 virus, an influenza B virus, and the 2009 H1N1 virus that caused so much illness last season.

There are two types of seasonal flu vaccines. One type is the “flu shot,” an inactivated (killed) vaccine (TIV for “trivalent inactivated influenza vaccine”) that is given with a needle, usually in the upper arm or thigh. This vaccine can be given to anyone 6 months or older, including pregnant women and people with existing medical conditions. The second type is the nasal spray vaccine (FluMist® or LAIV for “live attenuated influenza vaccine”), a vaccine made with live, weakened flu viruses that do not cause flu. This type of vaccine is approved for use in people 2–49 years of age who are not pregnant and who do not have health problems.