Flu Vaccine Was Not Very Effective This Season, the C.D.C. Says

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said this week that this season's flu vaccine offers little to no protection against getting a mild or moderate case of flu.

The C.D.C. said that the vaccine was only 16 percent effective in a study of more than 3,600 Americans.

It's not effective, but it's not bad in its effectiveness, according to a former FDA chief scientist. He was not associated with the report that he reviewed.

Despite the vaccine's lackluster performance this season, the C.D.C. suggested that people get inoculated.

If the flu season were to get severe, scientists warned that it could cause a twindemic, with Covid and the coronaviruses.

Even a mild flu season can be devastating. According to the C.D.C., around 22,000 people died and 400,000 were hospitalized during the flu season.

Influenza activity decreased in December and January, but increased in February.

There were 745 cases of the flu at the University of Michigan in October and November of 2021. The vaccine did not offer much protection.

The results of this season showed how much flu vaccine could be improved.

There is a chance that the next Pandemic could be an Influenza Pandemic.

Every year, scientists decide whether to update the flu vaccine to protect against the strains that they predict will dominate the upcoming season.

The low efficacy rate this season suggests that there was a mismatch between the strains of the vaccine.

This season's dominant strain of the flu was H3N2, and scientists updated their vaccines to offer protection against it. Experts said H3N2 was moderately severe during the flu season.

The vaccine's effectiveness has ranged from a low of 10 percent during the first season to a high of 60 percent for the 2010-11 season. The doctor said he would consider a rate between 50 and 80 percent to be good.

Hospital beds can be filled with the flu. It has the same symptoms as Covid, including a sore throat and fatigue. People 65 and older, pregnant people, immunocompromised people and children under 5 are most at risk of the flu.