This year’s influenza A (H1N1) strain differs from 2016-2017 vaccine
by Molly Walker, Staff Writer, MedPage Today September 05, 2017

Recommendations for the 2017-2018 influenza season remain largely unchanged, with FluMist left off the recommended influenza vaccinations for the second year in a row, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).
An AAP policy statement advises that everyone age 6 months and older should receive the influenza vaccine by the end of October. Those who require two doses, such as children ages 6 months to 8 years who have never been vaccinated, should receive their first dose earlier in the season, reported the AAP Committee on Infectious Diseases in Pediatrics.
The AAP said it continues to support the CDC’s recommendation not to use FluMist, the quadrivalent live attenuated intranasal vaccine. Instead, children should receive the inactivated influenza vaccine, with no stated preference for either the trivalent or the quadrivalent.
In terms of flu strains in the vaccine itself, the committee members said that the 2017-2018 influenza A (H1N1) strain differs from the 2016-2017 vaccine, but the influenza A (H3N2) and influenza B strains remain unchanged. The quadrivalent vaccine contains an additional B virus strain.
The AAP also said that special efforts should be taken to vaccinate children who have medical conditions where contracting the flu might increase their risk of complications, such as those with asthma and other chronic lung diseases, heart disease, and diabetes.
In addition, the committee members noted that for “best results,” antivirals should be administered within 48 hours of the onset of symptoms, and that pediatricians should try to identify these children with suspected influenza infection for “timely initiation” of treatment.
Other recommendations include:
• All women who are pregnant, contemplating pregnancy, are in the postpartum period or are breastfeeding during the influenza season should receive the vaccine
• Healthcare personnel, childcare providers, and staff should also receive the vaccine
• Children with an egg allergy may receive the vaccine without any additional precautions

All policy statements from the AAP automatically expire 5 years after publication unless reaffirmed, revised, or retired at or before that time.

• Primary Source
Source Reference: Committee on Infectious Diseases “Recommendations for prevention and control of influenza in children, 2017-2018” Pediatrics 2017; DOI: 10.1542/peds.2017-2550.