Seasonal flu shots fail to beat flu

The most talked about U.S. policy recommending people to get a seasonal shot of the flu vaccine isn’t as effective as billed, a study found.

As the influenza viruses mutate and the strains circulating vary from year to year, it is difficult to assess the vaccine’s efficacy, report experts.

Records show, every year in the United States, on an average 5-20 percent of the population gets infected with the flu. More than 200,000 people are hospitalized from flu complications and about 36,000 people die from flu annually.

Referred to as ‘the single best way to protect against the flu’ by The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention department, the efficacy of the vaccine is under question.

According to the study, the results of the vaccine tried on its two main target groups; children and adults were either faulty or failed to show clear benefit.

Flu is a contagious respiratory illness caused by influenza viruses. The flu virus spreads mainly from person to person through coughing or sneezing. The infection can cause mild to severe illness, and in some cases might also lead to death.

The policy recommended a flu shot before the onset of the flu season that lasted from January to as late as May in the United States. Thus, October or November was considered to be the best time to get vaccinated against flu.

But the researchers claim that there is not enough evidence to support the policy of immunizing people against seasonal flu.

Dr. Tom Jefferson, coordinator of the Cochrane Vaccines Field in Rome and study’s lead author reported, “We've got an exaggerated expectation of what vaccines can actually do.”

According to Jefferson, the difficulty in distinguishing between influenza and influenza-like illnesses particularly during the peak flu seasons and the lack of accurate and fast surveillance systems negate the effectiveness of the vaccine.

Flu vaccines can give only up to 80 percent protection from the infection and prevented hospitalization and deaths, revealed Dr. David Salisbury, director of immunization at the Department of Health.

But the bright side to the whole thing is that the health authorities were hopeful that the new vaccines currently in development may overcome some of the concerns raised about efficacy.