Flu season is here in full effect, but, lucky for us, officials at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices in Atlanta have said that the flu shot this year is very, very effective.
According to Headlines and Global News, the flu vaccine this year is far outperforming the vaccine from last year due to the fact that its a good match of the strains of the flu virus that are currently circulating.
“This means that getting a flu vaccine this season reduced the risk of having to go to the doctor because of flu by nearly 60 percent,” said Dr. Joseph Bresee, chief of the CDC’s Epidemiology and Prevention Branch.
“It’s good news and underscores the importance and the benefit for both annual and ongoing vaccination efforts this season.”
Last year, the flu vaccine as less than 20 percent effective against the then dominant strain. This year, however, scientists developing the flu shot were able to create a vaccine that better defends against the particular strain going around.
It’s no surprise then that the overall effectiveness this year is 51 percent. Against the varying strains, this year the vaccines are 51 percent effective against the H1N1 strain, 76 percent effective against all strains of influenza B and 79 percent effective against the B/Yamagata strain of B viruses.
All of this information comes out of the CDC’s yearly meeting aimed at addressing the effectiveness of the year’s vaccines.
During this meeting, the CDC addressed some of its guidance for people with egg allergies, who were having reactions when given the vaccine via injection. The CDC says that the nasal spray version of the vaccine alleviates any problems those with egg allergies might have.