When to get your flu vaccination?

Written By Tara Beecher, M Pharm

The flu vaccination is the best way to protect you and our family from flu this winter! It is important to get the flu vaccination every year as the vaccine changes yearly to reflect current flu strains and your immune response to the vaccination tends to decline after four to five months.

When is the vaccine available?
We anticipate that the first drop of 2021 flu vaccines will be in Good Price Pharmacy Warehouse pharmacies by mid-March. Our pharmacists will be available to administer your flu vaccine and no prescription is required.

What different flu vaccinations are available?
For the first time in Australia, there will be a cell-based flu vaccination available. Until now, all flu vaccines supplied in Australia were made from viruses grown in hens’ eggs. When the virus is grown in an egg, it can undergo egg-adapted changes that may cause a change in the viruses. In the new vaccine, the viruses are grown in a mammalian cell culture system and do not under-go any egg-adapted changes. Due to this, there have been observational studies showing that cell manufactured vaccines potentially provide greater protection against flu, compared to a standard egg-based vaccination. Cell-based vaccinations are also quicker to manufacture and not dependant on egg supply. This is a great advantage if there is a flu pandemic, allowing quicker vaccine manufacture. We can all appreciate the benefits of quickly manufactured vaccines at the moment!

When do I get vaccinated?
The best time to get your flu vaccination is early enough that it is before the flu season starts, but late enough to ensure that you have sufficient coverage during the peak of the flu season. Easy right? The usual recommendation is to get your flu vaccination anywhere from April to mid-June as, historically, the peak most often occurs in August. 

To make matters more complicated, the 2019 peak was early and in 2020 it was recommended to get the vaccination as soon as it was available.It is not always easy to predict the perfect time to get vaccinated.

Furthermore, flu vaccination stock in Australia, often, cannot meet demand and this, inevitably, results in supply issues during the season. Getting your vaccination early ensures that you don’t miss out.

What different flu vaccinations are available?
For the first time in Australia, there will be a cell-based flu vaccination available. Until now, all flu vaccines supplied in Australia were made from viruses grown in hens’ eggs. When the virus is grown in an egg, it can undergo egg-adapted changes that may cause a change in the viruses. In the new vaccine, the viruses are grown in a mammalian cell culture system and do not under-go any egg-adapted changes. Due to this, there have been observational studies showing that cell manufactured vaccines potentially provide greater protection against flu, compared to a standard egg-based vaccination. Cell-based vaccinations are also quicker to manufacture and not dependant on egg supply. This is a great advantage if there is a flu pandemic, allowing quicker vaccine manufacture. We can all appreciate the benefits of quickly manufactured vaccines at the moment!

What vaccination should I get first? COVID or Flu?
The much anticipated COVID vaccination campaign has begun in Australia, with plans for the majority of Australians to have access to vaccinations shortly. Good Price Pharmacy Warehouse pharmacists are proud to contribute to improving the health of our community by administering COVID-19 vaccines. Community pharmacies will be administering the AstraZeneca vaccine, which is likely to be available during the flu period. This leaves the question of which should we get first? According to the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI), the current recommendation is to separate your flu vaccine from your COVID vaccine by 2 weeks. However, the order of your vaccinations is not thought to matter.

Confused? Whether early or late, the most important thing is that you get vaccinated. Visit your local Good Price Pharmacy Warehouse and chat to our pharmacists about the best time for you to receive your flu vaccination or book now.

To book now Click Here