Every year, people avoid their flu shots for a number of reasons: They’re too busy, there’s too little time, they’re afraid the shot will hurt or that the vaccine will make them feel unwell.
Another excuse people have used this year: The shot doesn’t work.
And that’s just not true.
There are many strains, or types, of the influenza virus that causes flu. Each year, researchers make a determination on which strains of flu virus will likely be prevalent during a given year’s flu season. It’s a little like forecasting the weather months out.
What’s remarkable is, they’re often pretty close to right. Once it’s determined which strains of flu will likely be in circulation, vaccine manufacturers begin preparing doses of the vaccine to protect against those strains. This is why you need a flu shot every year — the shot you got last flu season does not necessarily protect against the flu viruses that are going around this flu season.
Recently, some media outlets have cited reports that this year’s flu vaccine is only 10 percent effective. That was true — Down Under.
The vaccine effectiveness figure of 10 percent is based on an interim estimate of the vaccine’s ability to protect against one strain of the flu virus — called H3N2 — that was present in Australia for most of their flu season.
In the United States, this year’s flu vaccine has an effectiveness close to 40 percent — about on par with the vaccine’s usual performance.
Lesson being, if you didn’t get your flu shot because you think the vaccine doesn’t work — well, it’s time to roll up your sleeve.
Along with providing a pretty robust level of protection against catching the flu, research has shown that individuals who are vaccinated against the flu and still develop it tend to experience less severe symptoms over a shorter duration. In other words, even if you do still get sick, it likely won’t be as bad or last as long if you’ve had your flu shot.
You can find more tips for protecting yourself from the flu from the CDC at https://www.cdc.gov/flu/consumer/prevention.htm.