Is there any point in getting a flu shot that doesn’t match the virus? this is what science says

Influenza is rearing its head once again in Canada, with the number of cases beginning to rise after another tough flu season in the Southern Hemisphere.

are scientists especially Seeing the spread of a new variant of the H3N2 strain that this year’s vaccine may not match.

That notorious form of influenza A is associated with more severe disease and a recently acquired mutation that could make the current flu shot less effective against it, CBC News recently reported,

So does it still make sense to get a flu vaccine this year? Medical experts say: Absolutely. The latest shot offers plenty of protection against severe disease, and is especially important for high-risk groups. here’s why.

Do flu shots really work?

The effectiveness of the flu vaccine can change from season to season, as does the virus itself. constantly changing,

There is also a big difference between how well flu shots protect against getting infected in the first place, and the level of protection against serious illness and death.

“I think most people aren’t really too concerned about having a sniffle or a cough. They really want to make sure they don’t have to go to the hospital,” Matthew Miller, an immunologist and researcher at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, told CBC News.

In October, Miller’s latest published research — a comprehensive review of hundreds of prior studies on cases of infection in adults and children after flu shots — showed that these vaccines actually work in the ways that matter most.

“We found that there was a really significant reduction in the severity of disease, and that was really reassuring, because it provides a high level of confidence that there is still great value in getting the vaccine,” Miller said.

Dr. Brian Conway, a Vancouver-based infectious disease expert, said getting vaccinated can also curb transmission of the virus, helping prevent the spread of flu among vulnerable groups such as older adults, who are at higher risk of death. Recent appearances on CBC Hanumansingh tonight,

Nearly nine in 10 Canadians expected to die from influenza and pneumonia in 2022 were aged 65 and older, Statistics Canada data showsMore than half of those deaths occur in people aged 85 and older.

The bottom line? “You should run, not walk, and get a flu vaccine now,” Conway said.

Who should get the pill?

Canada’s National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI), is composed of the country’s Top Vaccine Advisorsays flu shots are especially important for people at high risk, which could mean older adults, young children, pregnant people and anyone with chronic underlying health conditions.

“Influenza is a systemic disease,” Conway said. “You have a fever, your muscles ache, you have trouble getting out of bed sometimes, you may have trouble breathing. It can affect your lungs, it can lead to hospitalization, pneumonia, admission to the intensive care unit.”

Even healthy, young adults are affected more often than you think.

More than one in 10 of all US patients hospitalized with influenza last season had no underlying medical conditions, “highlighting that even healthy individuals can experience influenza-associated hospitalizations or complications,” the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report said. released in september,

In other words, everyone is at risk from the flu.

NACI officially recommends Flu shots are “given annually to anyone six months of age and older who has no contraindications to the vaccine.”

As far as infants, NACI emphasizes the need for vaccination during pregnancy to help transfer antibodies to protect newborns during their first months of life — when they are “at high risk of complications from influenza infection, and are too small to be vaccinated.”

What happens if you skip a flu shot?

Data shows that not getting vaccinated against flu also puts people at risk of serious illness.

Two-thirds of patients hospitalized in the US during the last flu season was not vaccinated Against influenza, US CDC data shows, while a staggering 90 percent of children died from the virus They were also not fully vaccinated(The guidance says that children up to age nine who have never had a flu vaccine before should get two doses, After that, it is given as a single, annual shot,)

“The sad reality is that the people who end up in the hospital or the ICU or die every year … didn’t know they were at risk, by and large, until it was too late,” said Miller, the McMaster immunologist. “…this is something that can be prevented (With a flu shot.)”

Canadian data from last flu season, Published in the Eurosurveillance journal in Januaryshowed that for people who were vaccinated, the risk of influenza severe enough to require a visit to the doctor was halved compared to unvaccinated individuals.

Is it still appropriate to get the ‘mismatched’ vaccine?

While vaccine researchers are always trying to stay one step ahead of influenza, it is hard to predict exactly how this will happen. rapidly changing virus Will evolve year after year.

This season is no different. As always, this year’s annual flu shot aims to cover a lot of bases, and includes components that target different subtypes of influenza A — including H1N1 and H3N2 strains — and influenza B.

Good news: A recent CDC study found the latest vaccine formula Nearly halve the number of flu-related hospitalizations In countries in the Southern Hemisphere that have already gone through a flu season.

But since then the situation has changed.

Dr. Danuta Skowronski, head of epidemiology for influenza and emerging respiratory pathogens at the BC Center for Disease Control, recently told CBC News that the Southern Hemisphere season was largely dominated by a variant of H1N1, while more recently, H3N2 has been increasing in various countries.

The latest H3N2 strain is also acquiring mutations that widen the gap between what is circulating and what is in the current vaccine.

So, is it still worth taking this particular shot?

While a “mismatched” vaccine may be less effective against H3N2 in Canada this season, “the vaccine does not protect against just one type of influenza,” Skowronski said.

“For seasons to come, however, H3N2 is likely to be a bigger player than in the past few seasons,” he added.

Miller emphasized that the possibility of a surge in H3N2 makes it even more important to get a flu shot to help keep patients away from Canada’s fragile hospital system.

“Even though it may not be a perfect match, its ability to prevent serious infection further reinforces the importance of vaccination,” Miller said.