CDC: FLU VACCINE STOPPED MANY OF THE WORST CASES

This season’s flu vaccine was particularly well-suited for children, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said, preventing many of the most severe infections.

The shot overall prevented about 45 percent of infections during the current flu outbreak, the CDC said in a report. The 20192020 flu season started earlier than normal and appears to be lingering longer, after a second strain of the virus began circulating late in the season.

“For the influenza B that started off strong this season, and is severe in kids, the vaccine is working against that strain even though it’s different from what’s in the vaccine,” said Brendan Flannery, the CDC’S lead investigator for the Flu VE Network. “We are still referring to the vaccine as a good match, but we point out that for some people the vaccine doesn’t protect well.”

The effectiveness of the influenza vaccine is often hit-or-miss, since publichealth experts design it each year based on projections about which strains will emerge and how they may have mutated from the previous season.

An interim report from the CDC suggests the effectiveness of this year’s immunization falls somewhere in the middle of the 40 percent to 60 percent protection normally seen when the vaccine matches up well against the circulating strains.

This season’s outbreak has been marked by a unusually high level of doctor’s office visits for influenzalike illness, accompanied by an unexpectedly low rate of deaths.

JIM WEBER AP The CDC reports that this year's flu vaccine worked well in children, preventing 55 percent of acute respiratory illnesses that landed kids in the doctor's office between Oct. 23, 2019 and Jan. 25, 2020.