Autumn is finally here! That means the air is getting a little crisper, the leaves are beginning to change their colors, and the holidays are coming just around the corner. But for all of us at Ocean Pediatrics, Orange County’s premier pediatric practice, we’re concerned with another yearly tradition — flu season!

Now’s when we jump into full gear getting all of our patients and their parents vaccinated to help stop the coming spread of influenza. Yes, parents, we hear your concerns and know that being able to get a flu vaccine with your kids is important to YOU!

There are almost a dozen different flu vaccines available. How do you know which one to choose? Well we’re here to help you on every step of your family’s healthcare journey, so we’ve created a comprehensive overview of the best flu vaccine for 2024.

Now there are so many different options out there, but for the purposes of this guide, we’re going to be talking about the different types, with an extra focus on two of the most popular: Flucelvax and FluZone.

What kinds of flu vaccines are available?

To start us off, let’s do a quick overview about what types of flu vaccines are on the market:

• Inactivated influenza vaccines: These are the most common type of flu vaccine, which provide protection against the three most likely strains of influenza variant circulating each year.
• Live-attenuated influenza vaccines: These are made from live (though weakened) viruses, which may cause short term, and very mild flu-like symptoms for people between 2 – 49 years old. This is administered through a nasal spray.
• Cell-cultured influenza vaccines: These are vaccines that are not cultured in chicken eggs, but instead use mammalian cells to grow flu viruses.
• Recombinant influenza vaccines: Similar to cell-cultured vaccines, these do not use chicken eggs either, this injection is made with three times the antigen over other flu vaccines, which aids the body in creating a strong immune response, this should only be used for people over 18 years old.

Now, let’s get into the major differences between the two most popular vaccines, Fluzone & Flucelvax…

Fluzone: Inactivated influenza vaccine

Fluzone is a popular vaccine option offered in many medical clinics around the country. It is available as an injection as well as a nasal spray. Since Fluzone is grown in embryonated chicken eggs, it is typically not as effective as a cell based vaccine since egg adaptation may occur.

Flucelvax: Cell-cultured influenza vaccine

Flucelvax, on the other hand, is a cell-based vaccine, meaning it is more likely to protect you and your family from egg adaptation. Flucelvax uses mammalian cells grown in cell cultures in a controlled environment. This is important because egg-based vaccines sometimes can be affected during growth that impact the efficacy, sometimes even lowering the immune-boosting response. There have even been studies showing that cell-based vaccines have shown greater protection against seasonal flu, compared with egg-based varieties. One such study even found that seven out of ten flu seasons, in which the then current vaccines were a mismatch, nearly half were caused by egg adaptation in the vaccines!

Our Choice: Flucelvax

For the reasons listed above, we at Ocean Pediatrics we believe that Flucelvax is a far superior vaccine. This cell-based vaccine has the potential to be more effective and consistent because its supply is not dependent on egg availability.

Please call us anytime to get your family’s flu shots. We look forward to meeting you and reconnecting again at Ocean Pediatrics! Until then, enjoy the fall season and stay safe!