by Stephanie Z
What is the one thing that no one looks forward to during
the winter months? The Flu! Many people, however, go to
their doctor and get a flu shot in order to help protect
them from getting sick. But what would happen if this
vaccine didn’t work? That is exactly what is happening
this year, according to U.S. health officials. Each
winter, scientists predict which strains of flu will go
around the following year so they can develop a
vaccination for the next flu season. They choose three
“strains”, two of which are from the “Type A family of
influenza” and one from “Type B”. Usually their guesses
are fairly accurate and have had a positive match the past
16 out of 19 flu seasons. This season, however, has proven
to be an exception.
This year experts are saying that the vaccine doesn’t
match, and therefore doesn’t protect against the flu
viruses that are circulating. In fact, they only match
about 40% of the viruses, whereas in past years they have
protected against as many as 90% of the viruses. 44 states
are reporting widespread cases of the flu, as opposed to
31 last week. This spike has been attributed to the fact
that early February is considered to be the peak of the
flu season.
So why does the vaccine not seem to be doing its job this
flu season? As it turns out, the vaccine’s “Type B
component” is not a good match for the B virus that has
been circulating so far this winter. Also, one of the
“Type A components” does not match the Type A strain that
accounts for the largest part of lab-confirmed cases.
Although I have never gotten a flu shot and
“knock-on-wood” have never really been affected by not
getting one, I know many people really count on this
vaccine to be effective. Many people work in stores and
large companies where they are in close contact with the
public and people who are sick and can not afford to get
sick themselves. Although the flu shot is usually proven
to be effective in most cases, this year so far does not
seem to live up to those standards as more and more people
are getting sick and the vaccine does not match the flu
strains that are circulating. Despite the fact that
scientists can never predict exactly what the virus will
be like, I would like to think that they will work on ways
to be more accurate and to help protect people from
getting sick in the future.
Have you or anybody you know been affected by the flu this
winter so far? From your experiences, has the flu shot
been effective this year or in years past? What do you
think scientists can do to help prevent people from
getting sick?
For more information, this article which was entitled “Flu
Season Expected To Get Worse” can be found at:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23187315/
Stay healthy!
