Vaccinations for seasonal influenza are now available at most Scripps Clinic and Scripps Coastal primary care sites across San Diego and at Scripps HealthExpress locations.
Scripps Health physicians say vaccination is the best way for everyone to protect themselves from influenza. Getting inoculated early in the season ensures protection by the time the virus is circulating widely in the community. “Every flu season is different,” said Siu Ming Geary, MD, an internal medicine physician and vice president of primary care at Scripps Clinic Medical Group. “But one thing that never changes is the value of vaccination for reducing your risk of getting sick or having severe symptoms if you become infected.”
The influenza vaccine is adjusted annually to match the virus strains expected to circulate, and this year’s injection includes one additional change. It no longer protects against the B/Yamagata family of viruses, which has not appeared anywhere since 2020, when global infection protection efforts during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic largely sidelined influenza.
As a result, for the first time in a decade, the 2024 flu shot contains protection for only three strains of the virus – A/Victoria (H1N1), A/Thailand (H3N2), and B/Austria – making it a trivalent vaccine rather than a quadrivalent, as it had been since 2013.
The southern hemisphere signals the active season
American health experts use Australia as a barometer to predict what might be in store for the United States later in the fall when the virus typically emerges here. It has been an active flu season in Australia, where influenza normally spreads during the Northern Hemisphere’s spring and summer months. Case numbers have run at their highest levels since before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Beyond the physical discomfort and schedule disruptions that a routine flu infection can bring, the virus can also be deadly. During the 2023-24 flu season, the virus infected more than 19,000 people in San Diego County and killed 60 locally. Across the United States, as many as 64 million people were sickened by the infection, and as many as 72,000 died.
Once again, new COVID and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) surges could occur while influenza spreads across the region and country this fall and winter, putting even more strain on health systems.
“Vaccination isn’t the only thing you can do to protect yourself and others around you from infection,” said Anthony Chong, MD, a family medicine physician and chief medical officer at Scripps Coastal Medical Center. “It’s always a good idea to wash hands often, avoid people who are sick, stay home and avoid others if you have symptoms, and make sure you are current on other recommended vaccinations for COVID-19 and RSV.”
Vaccination is available by appointment at Scripps
The flu vaccine is now widely available across San Diego County, including at most Scripps Clinic and Scripps Coastal primary care sites. These are open by appointment to all Scripps patients and everyone on a walk-in basis at Scripps HealthExpress locations.
Scripps patients can use the MyScripps portal to schedule a visit with their primary care physician to receive vaccinations for influenza, pneumonia, and other illnesses. They can also call their primary care physician’s office directly. Those without a MyScripps account can dial 1-800-SCRIPPS for flu vaccination information.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend annual influenza vaccination for everyone six months or older, especially those who are at high risk for complications from the flu, including people 65 years and older; children under the age of 2; pregnant women, and people with chronic conditions such as asthma, diabetes, heart disease, neurological conditions, blood disorders, weakened immune systems and morbid obesity.