Each year the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) undertake flu vaccine effectiveness studies. Early estimates for the current season indicate that those people (all ages) who had the flu vaccine were only 23% less likely to have to go to the doctor because of flu (influenza).
Flu is a contagious respiratory illness caused by influenza viruses that infect the nose, throat, and lungs. The severity of flu varies considerably, but certain groups of people are at greater risk of developing serious complications, eg, elderly people, young children, pregnant women and people with pre-existing health conditions, such as asthma, diabetes, or heart disease. The best way to prevent catching flu is by having a flu vaccine each year.
However, the ability of the vaccine to prevent flu varies from year to year, depending on how closely the current flu viruses match the strains used to produce the vaccine. If the flu vaccine is not at all matched to circulating viruses, flu vaccination may provide no benefit. The age and health of the person being vaccinated also impacts vaccine effectiveness, with it working best in younger, healthy people.
Since 2004, estimates of flu vaccine effectiveness have ranged from 10% to 60%. The low level of protection afforded so far this season (23%) indicates the need for additional preventative measures and increased use of influenza antiviral medications. However, since the flu vaccine is designed to protect against three or four influenza viruses, the level of protection may increase if some of these other viruses circulate later in the season.
Joe Bresee, branch chief of CDC Influenza Division advised:
Physicians should be aware that all hospitalized patients and all outpatients at high risk for serious complications should be treated as soon as possible with one of three available influenza antiviral medications if influenza is suspected.
Flu vaccines are still currently the best tool for protecting against influenza viruses, however, the variation in their effectiveness highlights the need for more reliable options. Researchers at McMaster University and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai are developing a universal flu vaccine using a newly discovered class of antibodies that are capable of neutralizing a wide range of influenza A viruses.
Matthew Miller, an assistant professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences at McMasters University explained:
Unlike seasonal vaccines, which must be given annually, this type of vaccine would only be given once, and would have the ability to protect against all strains of flu, even when the virus mutates.
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