Influenza vaccine worked better than expected last year
Q:I heard that the flu vaccine worked only 20 to 25 per cent of the time last year.
Is it even worth getting it this year? — Lolly G., Stamford, Connecticut
A: It’s always worth getting the flu shot, and that 20 to 25 percent effectiveness number was simply an early estimate. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that the effectiveness rate ended up around 36 percent across several different flu strains, but primarily against H3N2. However, even a 20 per cent effectiveness rate — as was the case in 2014-15 — prevents an estimated 144,000 flu-related hospitalizations and 4,000 deaths. This year, the vaccine almost doubled that prevention/ death rate! That’s avoiding a lot of misery!
So, yes, get your flu shot as soon as it’s available this fall. Don’t forget, there’s also a cumu- lative benefit. We can’t put an exact number on it, but we do know that people who receive the vaccination year after year, and who still end up getting sick, tend to have less severe symptoms for a shorter period of time than unvaccinated folks. And getting the flu shot 10 years in a row from age 50 to 60 decreases all causes of death, including from stroke and heart attack, by more than 25 percent.
Plus, there’s the benefit, especially for 30- to 50-year-olds, that comes from creating “herd immunity.” When you’re inoculated against the flu, you’re not putting vulnerable young kids and seniors who may not have been inoculated at risk of coming down with it and suffering serious complications.
Clearly, there’s no downside to getting the flu shot. (Compared with the odds of preventing serious illness and death, the chance of a serious side effect is one in 40,000.) As Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar put it, it’s “the same kind of sensible precaution as buckling your seatbelt.”
So protect yourself and your family by getting vaccinated when the time is right; there’s a schedule for all of your vaccinations at www.cdc.gov/vaccines/ schedules.
Mehmet Oz, M.D. is host of “The Dr. Oz Show,” and Mike Roizen, M.D. is Chief Wellness Officer and Chair of Wellness Institute at Cleveland Clinic. Email your health and wellness questions to Dr. Oz and Dr. Roizen
at youdocsdaily@sharecare.com.