Although health care companies continue to push the flu vaccines onto the American people, they have to get it right, or people are not going to keep using it. Now that the numbers are in, we see that this past year’s flu vaccine was another flop as it proved to be just 29 percent effective. That’s not enough for people to trust it or to turn to it as they gear up to prepare for the worst as reports that next year’s flu season is set to be even deadlier than it was this year.
The CDC reported last Thursday that the flu vaccine administered this past year was just 29 percent effective. Scientists blame the lack of usefulness to the unexpected second wave of H3N2, which is the same flu strain that is currently making Australia sick.
Because the Southern Hemisphere has winter first, their flu season often acts as a predictor to what it will be like in the United States and other countries abroad.
Now that the CDC is working tirelessly to protect the American public from getting the flu – which can kill – they are recommending that people get a flu vaccine that protects them from the H1N1 and H3N2 strains as well as influenza B.
The main reason that the flu vaccine was not effective was that the H3N2 strain popped up in the United States part way through the flu season. The vaccine that had been given out until that point did not protect against that.
Last year 80,000 people died from the flu in the United States. The CDC wants to do much better than that in this upcoming year. That’s why the United States’ government promised to endow the National Institute of Health (NIH) with $1 billion to develop a flu shot that could save lives.
Although the billion dollars was given to the organization in the hopes that they could develop a universal flu vaccine health officials are worried that such a feat might never be possible, let along in time to beat next year’s deadly flu season.
While last year’s flu shot worked well early in the season with an effectiveness of 47 percent. But when the second, stronger strain started to railroad people across America, the vaccine’s effectiveness dropped to just nine percent.
CDC’s Brendan Flannery admitted that the vaccine offered “no significant protection” against the H3N2 strain.
Every year scientists unite to determine which strains are going to be most prevalent. That’s why vaccines are built to protect people from three or four strains of the virus, the ones predicted to be the most deadly and widespread.
However, scientists cannot always predict the future, and as is the case in the 2018/2019 flu season, the H3N2 strain came out of nowhere.
Flu is particularly challenging for scientists to create a vaccine because the virus can change and adapt so quickly.
Nevertheless, flu shots are recommended for all Americans age six months or older. Although it is not perfect, last year’s vaccine saved an estimated 40,000 to 90,000 people from hospitalization.
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