U.S. health officials say this season’s flu vaccine not as powerful
Posted December 4, 2014 7:26 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Health officials in the United States are warning that this year’s flu vaccine may not offer the usual amount of protection.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, early signs are that the flu in circulation is not a good match for what is in the flu vaccine.
“They’ve looked at more than 1,000 flu strains, and over 50 per cent of them do not match the strain of virus that was used to make this year’s flu vaccine,” ABC’s chief medical expert Dr. Richard Besser said.
Officials said the most common strain so far this season is Influenza A (H3N2), and it is mutated.
The flu shot still offers some level of protection, but Toronto Public Health said the best way to avoid the spread of flu is to sneeze into your sleeve, wash hands frequently, and do the fist bump instead of shaking hands.
See the below infographic courtesy of Sunnybrook hospital on six ways to avoid getting the flu. Mobile viewers, click here.
The most recent influenza numbers from the Public Health Agency of Canada show that flu cases in the GTA seem to be more localized in the Brampton, Barrie, Whitby and Newmarket areas.
The City of Toronto was operating flu shot clinics in November, but people can still get it at a pharmacy or doctor’s office.
Below is the agency’s flu watch map for Nov. 16-22:
