Protect Your Patients - The Flu & Other Vaccines

Who should receive the flu vaccine?

The CDC recommends a yearly flu vaccine for everyone 6 months of age and older as the first and most important step in protecting against this serious disease. While there are many different flu viruses, the flu vaccine is designed to protect against the main flu strains that research indicates will cause the most illness during the flu season.

Encourage your patients to get the flu vaccine as soon as it becomes available each year. The protection they get from the vaccination will last throughout the flu season.

What is available for the this flu season?

Several types of flu vaccine are available for Johns Hopkins Health Plans members.

Most of the flu vaccines offered  will be trivalent (three component). Some seasonal flu vaccines will be formulated to protect against four flu viruses (quadrivalent flu vaccines). 

The new quadrivalent flu vaccines are covered for all three lines of business, under the same benefit parameters as trivalent flu vaccines. Members have the option of getting the flu vaccine from their primary care physician’s office or a network pharmacy.

Should patients receive a trivalent or quadrivalent vaccine?

At this time, the CDC does not recommend any one influenza vaccine product over another. Members have the option of getting either flu vaccine from their primary care physician’s office or a network pharmacy.

If your patients are looking for more information on the flu, they can go to http://www.cdc.gov/flu/.

Flu & Other Vaccines

Members may obtain the following vaccines from a network provider or the vaccines listed below from a network pharmacy: