Shots can give only 85% protection

Flu shots cannot provide a

100 per cent protection from influenza, say doctors. At most, the shots in India can provide up to 85 per cent protection against all influenza infections, including against

H1N1 viruses.

The shots also cannot guarantee against a person needing medical care, according to Dr Rajeev Nayyar, medical superintendent at Fortis Memorial Research Institute, Gurugram. Dr Nayyar said it is the mutating nature of the virus that makes it difficult to have a 100 per cent success rate. The vaccine needs to be updated every year.

However, the level of protection provided by the vaccine is within the range of what one would expect during a flu season when H1N1 viruses are most active, he added.

He said, “The numbers of swine flu patients rise every year but it is not common among people in India to get vaccinated. While governments in the US and the UK give out a directive on flu jabs, there is no such thing in India. It falls on individuals to vaccinate themselves.”

The vaccine needs to be taken at the end of September and beginning of October as it takes three weeks for the antibodies to build.

He added, “Drug firms Abbott and Sanofi offer the jabs in India but often the vaccinations are out of stock. The government should make them more readily available. Meanwhile, simple steps such as washing hands frequently, sneezing into an handkerchief and isolating an infected person are basic precautions one can take.”