[MHarrah]

I have not given the flu vaccine for two years but will be giving them again soon. It seems that safety devices are constantly changing, so I wanted to get feedback on what type of device is most commonly used now for administering a flu vaccine (or any type of IM injection for that matter). When I administered them two years ago, the needle was manually pulled out after injection slowly, and the needle was disposed of without recapping. Now I hear talk of retractable needles where you push the button, and it instantly pulls the needle out of the skin for you. I would think this would be inappropriate for IM as it would pull out of the muscle too quickly. From what I am familiar with, self retracting needles are only appropriate for insulin and other types of subcutaneous injections. I would think the protocol would be the same. Please advise as I have been out of the injection loop for two years.