Flu Shots Have Been Working Well This Season, Data Suggest

The influenza vaccine has worked fairly well this season, preventing serious flu cases and hospitalizations across age groups, according to preliminary data released by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Flu shot efficacy varies from year to year, since different strains of the virus circulate each flu season. Experts do their best to tailor the shots to the strains expected to spread, but it’s not always a perfect fit. In some years, flu shot efficacy doesn’t break 30%. So far, however, this season’s flu shots have been 71% effective at preventing symptomatic illness among children and 54% effective at preventing cases resulting in medical care among people younger than 65, according to a CDC report published Feb. 23 and based on data from Wisconsin. While those data are state-specific and based on a fairly small patient sample, the report notes that influenza strains circulating in Wisconsin tracked with those seen nationally. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Read More: COVID-19 Rebound Can Happen Even Without Paxlovid The numbers also align with several preliminary national estimates released by the CDC on Feb. 22. Those data—drawn from three different flu-monitoring networks, which include research sites across the country—suggest this season’s shots have been roughly 50% and 70% effective at preventing influenza-related hospitalizations among adults younger than 65 and kids, respectively. Protection...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized healthscienceclimate medicine Source Type: news