– It’s time for flu shots again, and health officials expect to avoid a repeat of the misery last winter, when immunizations weren’t a good match for a nasty surprise strain.
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There are no guarantees, but this year’s vaccine has been updated to protect against that bug and other strains that specialists predict will spread.
The Department of Health and Human Services is encouraging all residents above the age of 6 months to get vaccinated against the flu as soon as possible. Companies are expected to make 170 million doses of vaccine, of which 40 million have already been distributed, he said. The vaccine is available in the traditional shot form for people 6 months of age and older and in a nasal mist form for healthy people aged 2 to 49 years who are not pregnant. There were concerns last years that the flu shot was not as effective against the strains that were floating around. They also said that if a person will be vaccinated in advance, he or she will have a lesser risk of getting infected.
Last year’s effectiveness was “quite low”, and offered only about 13 percent protection against the common H3N2 strains, while the H1N1 and B strains were protected at a rate of 50-60 percent, Frieden said. People allergic to eggs can get an egg-free vaccine and seniors can get a high-dose vaccine, he said. And if you do get the flu after vaccination, you’re likely to have a less-severe version of it.
Flu can be serious – affecting the lungs, nose and throat.
The results will hopefully encourage more people to get their flu shots, CDC Director Thomas Frieden said during a news conference. These include adults age 65 and older, young children under 5 years of age, pregnant women and people with certain health conditions, such as asthma, diabetes or heart disease, and persons who live in facilities like nursing homes. Vomiting and diarrhea are seen more often in children with flu than adults.
Be sure and talk to your doctor about which vaccination may be best for you. But others can suffer life-threatening complications, such as pneumonia, according to the CDC.
Last year, hospitalization rates were the highest they’ve been in recorded CDC history, Frieden said. The flu season in the U.S. can start as early as October and stretch into May.
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The timing of flu season is unpredictable and can vary in different parts of the country and from season to season. Cases typically peak between December and February.
