Influenza: Vaccination and Guidelines for Safe Prescribing

Course overview

Influenza is a highly contagious, viral infection of the nose, throat, and lungs that occurs most often in the late fall, winter, and early spring. It is a serious infection, which affects millions of people in the United States every year. Influenza vaccine can be effective for preventing influenza illness. It is not fully known if vaccination reduces the risk of subsequent hospital admission among patients with vaccine failure and laboratory confirmed influenza illness. There are guidelines for influenza vaccination based on a patient's age or complications, or in the event a patient has an adverse reaction to an influenza vaccination.