By Kim Kalunian, WPRO News
Some of the best flu vaccines in the past decade have only been 50 to 60 percent effective, but this year’s didn’t even break the 30 percent mark.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) officials said Thursday this year’s influenza vaccine is only 23 percent effective, one of the worst performances since officials started tracking vaccine efficacy a decade ago.
The problem: this year’s cocktail isn’t effectively targeting the most common strain of the flu.
“There’s at least three different strains of flu in the flu vaccine,” explained the Rhode Island Department of Health’s Chief Health Professionals Officer Dr. Jim McDonald. “It’s offering some protection, but it’s not covering the H3N2 strain as well as was expected.”
He said the vaccine is tweaked every flu season.
“When the flu vaccine is made every year, it’s an educated guess as to what the strains are going to be, based on what is seen around the world,” he explained. “And this year, it’s not as well matched as it was last year.”
And he said officials can’t fix the error: the flu vaccine is made once a year. That’s it.
This season the CDC declared epidemic flu levels in the U.S., and Rhode Island health officials declared the flu widespread in December.
While McDonald says those who are already vaccinated are still susceptible to the flu, he also says people should still get the flu shot.
“It’s very good at preventing death from flu, and it’s very good at preventing hospitalization from flu,” he said.
He also said people should remember the words of their moms and grandmothers, and wash their hands.
“I know washing your hands sound boring, but it’s a great thing to remember,” he said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
