You’ll see future changes to influenza vaccines and updates to COVID-19 vaccines for the 2024-2025 season.
Flu vaccines will transition from quadrivalent to TRIVALENT in the coming years. It’s because the extra B/Yamagata strain in the quadrivalent vaccines is no longer actively circulating.
All flu vaccines in Canada will still protect against 2 A strains, H1N1 and an updated H3N2 strain...plus the B/Victoria strain.
But now there’s no preference for a quadrivalent in children.
Also keep in mind that annual flu vaccine doesn’t protect against H5N1 bird flu. But H5N1 vaccine production is underway...in case immunization becomes needed.
Work with your pharmacy team to offer influenza vaccines as soon as they’re available, ideally in September or October...and continue as long as flu is circulating.
Encourage an annual flu vaccine for everyone 6 months and up...and use ANY product appropriate for their age and health status.
For patients age 65 or older, offer a high-dose, adjuvanted, or recombinant flu vaccine...Fluzone High-Dose, Fluad, or Supemtek. These have increased benefit in older patients.
But don’t delay vaccination if one of these isn’t available. Instead, offer any available age-appropriate flu vaccine.
Bookmark our resource, Flu Vaccines for 2024-25, to compare products, including FluMist...in terms of approved ages, doses, etc.
COVID-19 vaccines will also be updated...to try to match circulating variants. Expect 2024-2025 COVID-19 vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer to target the KP.2 variant...and Novavax’s to target JN.1.
But either composition is expected to offer protection against current variants...and Health Canada doesn’t prefer one product over another.
Anticipate dispensing any age-appropriate 2024-2025 COVID-19 vaccine for eligible patients 6 months and up...just like flu.
Check that it has been at least 3 months since their last COVID-19 vaccine or COVID-19 infection...but 6 months is the ideal interval prior to administering another dose.
Stay tuned in to our COVID-19 Vaccines resource for emerging updates.
Continue to ask about other vaccines that patients may need (RSV, shingles, Tdap, etc)...it’s okay to get these at the same visit.
Be aware that a combo flu/COVID-19 vaccine could be available NEXT fall...and that flu/RSV and COVID-19/flu/RSV vaccines are in the works.
Register for our live CE, Immunization Updates 2024: Discussing Your Big Questions, on Tuesday, October 15...or search for it afterward to listen on demand.
- Health Canada. An Advisory Committee Statement (ACS) National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI). Statement on Seasonal Influenza Vaccine for 2024-2025. https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/phac-aspc/documents/services/publications/vaccines-immunization/national-advisory-committee-immunization-statement-seasonal-influenza-vaccine-2024-2025/naci-statement-2024-07-25.pdf (Accessed August 29, 2024).
- Public Health Agency of Canada. Addendum to the statement on seasonal influenza vaccine for 2024-2025: Transition from quadrivalent to trivalent influenza vaccines. https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/publications/vaccines-immunization/national-advisory-committee-immunization-statement-addendum-seasonal-influenza-vaccine-2024-2025.html (Accessed August 29, 2024).
- Health Canada. An Advisory Committee Statement (ACS) National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI). Guidance on the use of COVID-19 vaccines during the fall of 2024. https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/phac-aspc/documents/services/publications/vaccines-immunization/national-advisory-committee-immunization-guidance-covid-19-vaccines-fall-2024/naci-statement-2024-05-03.pdf (Accessed August 29, 2024).