This year's flu vaccine was only 16% effective in reducing the risk of mild or moderate infection with influenza viruses., according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). A satisfactory percentage would be at least 50%, according to experts.
This low effectiveness was revealed by a study of data on more than 3,600 people in seven US states, according to the New York Times. “The vaccine is not ineffective, but it is certainly less than ideal,” said Dr. Jesse Goodman, former chief scientist at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). «The next pandemic could be a flu pandemic, so we need better vaccines.», he pointed out.
Nevertheless, the CDC continues to recommend flu vaccination, on the grounds that it can «prevent serious outcomes.» It also stated that During this winter season, flu cases declined in December and January during the new wave of the Omicron variant of the pandemic, but increased in early February.
Every year, scientists decide whether to adjust the composition of the flu vaccine to better protect against the strains of influenza viruses that are predicted to dominate. This year's low vaccine effectiveness indicates, according to Goodman, that «there was a mismatch between the virus strains in the vaccine and those circulating.».
This year's flu vaccine has been updated to offer protection against four flu viruses., including H3N2, which proved to be the dominant strain this year, according to the CDC (the same strain had also prevailed during the 2017-18 season). The vaccine's effectiveness varies greatly from year to year and, according to the CDC, ranged from 60% in 2010-11 to only 10% in 2004.
The population groups most at risk from influenza, which affects the respiratory system and has several symptoms in common with Covid-19, such as fever, cough, shortness of breath, sore throat, fatigue, etc., are people over 65, those with weakened immune systems, and children under five.
