Better flu vaccine match expected
Cases of seasonal influenza have already begun to show up in Canada, and public health officials say that means it’s time to get that jab in the arm — not only to prevent the flu for yourself but also to help avoid spreading the nasty respiratory bug to others.
This year’s flu shot is expected to be much more effective than last season’s, which ended up being a poor match for the predominant circulating strain, known as AH3N2, said Dr. Michelle Murti of Public Health Ontario.
Murti said the 2018-19 vaccine should be a better match, as the H3N2 component has been changed to reflect what’s predicted to be this season’s dominant type of that strain.
The standard flu shot provides protection against H3N2, another A strain called H1N1, and two B strains — Victoria and Yamagata. The vaccine is intended for most adults, as well as children six months of age and older. For needle-adverse kids, parents can instead opt for immunization with FluMist, a nasal product that targets the same four strains.
A high-dose shot is available for seniors aged 65-plus, who are often at higher risk for severe complications from influenza, which in some cases can be fatal.
“Mostly what we’re concerned about is that H3N2 component. That’s the one that can be quite severe for seniors particularly,” said Murti.
“The question is what kind of a season are we going to see this year? We’ve had two years in a row of H3N2 seasons. So I think some of the predictions around what we might be seeing this year is that we might be back to an H1N1 season.”
That’s been the experience in Australia, as the Southern Hemisphere comes to the end of its influenza season.
“They’ve had a predominantly H1N1 season — very, very mild,” she said, a massive change from the previous year, when Australia recorded more than 250,000 laboratory-confirmed cases and 1,255 deaths due to flu.