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 News Review From Harvard Medical School -- |
| Flu shots offered only 9% protection for people over 65 against the most severe strain of flu circulating this season, the U.S. government says. That strain was the most common this season as well as the one that caused the worst illness. Overall, the vaccine provided about 27% protection against 3 strains of influenza for adults over 65, the new report said. Protection was about 56% for all age groups. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released the statistics February 21. Flu generally hits older adults harder, and flu shots don't work as well for them. Overall, the effectiveness of this season's vaccine was not much below average, experts told the Associated Press (AP). Because flu changes quickly, there's a lot of guesswork in creating the vaccine. So 30% to 40% effectiveness is considered good for seniors, AP said. About 60% to 70% is acceptable for all groups. But the 9% rate of protection was particularly low. Perhaps partly as a result, hospital stays for older adults hit one of the highest levels in a decade. |
