Ask the Doctor Question:
Should someone with CLL who is over 65 years old receive the High Dose Flu Vaccine or the standard dose vaccine?
Answer: Here is a link to a good article on our website about vaccinations in CLL: https://cllsociety.org/2019/10/vaccines-for-cll-patients/. As you can see, CLL Society closely follows the CDC recommendations for vaccinations. While the CDC does not necessarily recommend one flu vaccine over another, they have approved the high dose flu vaccine over the standard dose specifically for anyone over the age of 65. You can read more about those specific recommendations on the CDC website here: https://www.cdc.gov/flu/prevent/qa_fluzone.htm. The nice thing about the high dose influenza vaccine (Fluzone High-Dose Quadrivalent) is that it contains something called an adjuvant, which is an ingredient intended to help improve the immune response to the influenza vaccine in those who are immunocompromised.
