Did you get your flu shot this year? Did you get the flu anyway? That could be because this season’s vaccine offered virtually no protection against infection, according to a new report from the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Although the shot should still offer some protection against more severe symptoms, it only cut the risk of getting a mild case of flu by 16%, the CDC reported. The CDC study included data on more than 3,600 Americans in seven states.
The findings mean the flu vaccine was “essentially ineffective,” Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious diseases expert at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center, told NBC News.
Despite the vaccine’s ineffectiveness, this has been the second flu season in a row to show low overall case counts. That might be because of the omicron variant of COVID-19, which prompted many people to continue wearing masks and social distancing, Schaffner suggested.
This CDC study highlights the need for better flu vaccines, because “the flu is not going away,” Schaffner added. “It will be back again next year and the year after that and the year after that.”
Pfizer, Moderna and other vaccine makers are trying to develop flu vaccines using mRNA technology, which was used to create some COVID-19 vaccines. But those likely won’t be ready until late 2023, NBC News reported.
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