US doctors are bracing for a potentially miserable winter because of ineffective flu shots.
Over the past few months, Australia, whose flu season just ended, was hit hard with a flu strain that’s notorious for causing severe illness, especially in seniors.
And in the US, small clusters of that so-called H3N2 flu have already started popping up.
‘We don’t know what’s going to happen but there’s a chance we could have a season similar to Australia,’ Dr. Daniel Jernigan, influenza chief at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told The Associated Press.
US doctors are bracing for a potentially miserable winter because of ineffective flu shots. Over the past few months, Australia was hit hard with a flu strain that’s notorious for causing severe illness, especially in seniors. US doctors believe the same thing may happen in America
In Australia, reports suggest that their vaccine was only effective 10 per cent of the time, according to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM).
‘Reports from Australia have caused mounting concern, with record-high numbers of laboratory-confirmed influenza notifications and outbreaks and higher-than-average numbers of hospitalizations and deaths,’ the group of infectious disease doctors noted in the study.
In Australia, the number reached 215,280 reports by mid-October, exceeding the 59,022 cases reported during the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic.
Dr Anthony Fauci told WTOP: ‘What happened is, in the development of the vaccine, as we grow it in eggs, the virus itself mutated a bit, so that there was almost an accidental mismatch purely on the basis of the virus trying to adapt itself to growing in eggs, which is the way you make the vaccine’.
‘That’s what happened in Australia and it is likely that that’s what we’re going to see here,’ he added.
But Fauci said Americans should still take the time to get a vaccination. ‘Vaccines remain a valuable public health tool, and it is always better to get vaccinated than not to get vaccinated.’
Last year, only about 47 per cent of the population was vaccinated in the US. CDC’s Jernigan cautions there’s no good way to predict how bad the upcoming flu season will be. Doctors also encourage folks to wash their hands frequently
Last year, only about 47 per cent of the population was vaccinated in the US.
CDC’s Jernigan cautions there’s no good way to predict how bad the upcoming flu season will be.
That H3N2 strain caused infections here last year, too. And although strains that circulate in the Southern Hemisphere often spread to North America and Europe, there’s no guarantee it will make a repeat performance.
In September, World Health Organization flu advisers who met in Australia recommended updating future vaccines for the Southern Hemisphere to strengthen H3N2 protection.
Flu does constantly evolve, forcing new vaccine to be brewed each year to match the strains specialists expect to cause most illness.
WHO NEEDS A SHOT?
Everybody, starting at 6 months of age, according to the CDC.
Flu is most dangerous for people over age 65, young children, pregnant women and people with certain health conditions such as asthma or heart disease.
But it can kill even the young and otherwise healthy. On average, the CDC says flu kills about 24,000 Americans each year, and last year, the toll included 105 children.
Last year, three-fourths of babies and toddlers — tots ages 6 months to 2 years — were vaccinated. So were two-thirds of adults 65 and older.
HOW WELL DOES THE VACCINE PROTECT?
The CDC says people who get flu shots have a 40 per cent to 60 per cent lower chance of getting seriously ill than the unvaccinated.
If someone is infected despite vaccination, generally they have a milder illness than if they’d skipped the shot, doctors have said.
WHEN SHOULD YOU GET THE VACCINE?
It takes about two weeks for good protection to kick in. Flu season tends to peak around January, but there’s no way to know when it will start spreading widely.
Manufacturers say between 151 million and 166 million doses will be available this year. It’s already widely available in doctors’ offices and drugstores.
CDC recommends that people get a flu vaccine by the end of October, if possible.
Getting vaccinated later; however, can still be beneficial and vaccination should continue to be offered throughout the flu season, even into January or later.
WILL THE SHOT MAKE ME SICK?
You can’t get influenza from flu shots, specialists stress. But flu vaccine doesn’t protect against colds or other respiratory viruses that people can confuse with influenza.
LOTS OF OPTIONS
The regular flu shot comes in versions that protect against either three or four strains of influenza — including that problematic H3N2 strain, another Type A strain known as H1N1, and one or two strains of Type B flu.
Ask your doctor or pharmacist about other options which are available for certain age groups.
The regular flu shot (file) comes in versions that protect against either three or four strains of influenza
For needle-phobes, there’s a skin-deep vaccine that uses tiny needles, and a needle-free jet injector that shoots another vaccine through the skin.
Two vaccine brands target the 65-and-older crowd. They’re especially vulnerable to flu’s dangerous complications because they tend to have more underlying health problems than younger people — and because standard flu shots don’t work as well with age-weakened immune systems.
One high-dose version contains four times the usual anti-flu ingredient, while a competitor contains an extra immune-boosting compound.
And for those worried about allergies from eggs used in the production process, two more vaccines are egg-free.
NO NASAL SPRAY OPTION
FluMist, a less ouchy nasal spray vaccine, once was popular with children. But last year, a baffled CDC said it was no longer protecting against certain influenza strains as well as regular flu shots — and told doctors not to use it.
That’s the same advice this year: Youngsters will need a shot, just like their parents.
And for kids between the ages of 6 months and 8 years who are getting a first-ever flu vaccination, they’ll need two doses a month apart.