SURGEON GENERAL’S ADVICE: GET FLU SHOT
Urges Americans to get vaccinated after estimated 80,000 deaths last season
WASHINGTON — After an estimated 80,000 flu deaths in the United States last season, Surgeon General Jerome M. Adams recently urged Americans to get vaccinated this year.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that everyone age 6 months and older receive a flu shot. Federal health officials says it’s particularly important for people who are vulnerable to complications, such as children, pregnant women, people with chronic health conditions and older adults.
“Last season illustrated what every public health official knows: Influenza can be serious in people of all ages,” Adams said. “It is critical that we focus national attention on the importance of influenza vaccination to protect as many people as possible every season.”
The flu death toll in the United States last year was the highest in four decades, according to the CDC. Americans made an estimated 900,000 hospital visits. Cases increased in November and peaked in January and February.
As measured by doctors’ and hospital visits, last year’s was the most severe season since the 2009 pandemic, according to the CDC.
Officials determine the composition of the vaccine each year. Its effectiveness varies.
Last season, the vaccine match was only 36 percent, according to the CDC. Protection rates varied among different strains of the flu.
Vaccination doesn’t guarantee a person will avoid contracting the flu, but research shows that people who are vaccinated are less likely to experience severe complications.
A 2017 CDC study showed that vaccination reduced flu deaths among children with high-risk medical conditions by half, and among healthy children by about two-thirds.
One hundred and eighty children died from the flu last year.
Adults who get the vaccine are less likely to suffer complications that require hospitalization.
Vaccination rates among children declined 1.1 percent during the 2017-18 flu season. Nearly 58 percent of children were vaccinated, well short of the federal goal of 80 percent.
Vaccination coverage dropped at a slightly faster rate among children age 6 months to 4 years, an age group susceptible to serious illness and hospitalization.
The timing and severity of the flu season varies each year, depending on the strains that are circulating. Some seasons are mild. The 1918 flu pandemic killed an estimated 675,000 Americans and sickened one third of the world’s population.
There are two versions of the standard vaccine to consumers this year. The “trivalent” vaccine protects against two strains of influenza A and one strain of influenza B. The quadrivalent protects against two influenza A and two influenza B strains.
Another option is a nasal spray for people between the ages of 2 and 49. It is not recommended for pregnant women.
Federal health officials say two stronger vaccines are available for adults age 65 and older: A high-dose shot about four times as strong as a conventional vaccine or a shot made with an adjuvant that creates a stronger immune response.
These more robust vaccines are more likely to produce side effects, including pain, redness or swelling, headache, muscle ache and malaise, according to the CDC.