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Study finds flu shots 59% effective, concludes that better flu vaccines are needed
USA Today
Seasonal flu shots prevent only about 59% of infections in adults — and that’s not effective enough to protect people in a global outbreak, says a new analysis that may help accelerate research on an improved vaccine.
“Today’s flu shot is like an iPhone 1.0,” says study author Michael Osterholm of the University of Minnesota. “What we need is an iPhone 10.0.”
H1N1 shots do slightly better than seasonal flu shots, preventing infection in 69% of adults under 65. Nasal sprays do even better, preventing infections in 83% of children under age 7, according to the analysis of previous studies, published online today in The Lancet Infectious Diseases. One study found that flu shots reduce hospitalizations by 8%. That’s significant, however, given that the flu hospitalizes about 200,000 Americans a year.
The new findings shouldn’t discourage people from getting vaccinated, Osterholm says. “We have an obligation to tell the public what we know. We know we need better vaccines. But 59% protection is still better than zero. To me, that still very much recommends getting vaccinated.”
While vaccine researchers say they’re aware of the limitations of current flu shots, they acknowledge that these disappointing results may come as a surprise to most consumers, who see countless ads each year telling them to get immunized.
Still, only 42% of Americans plan to get a flu shot this year, according to a new survey from CVS pharmacy.
“There isn’t any doubt that influenza vaccine is a pretty good vaccine, but it’s not an excellent vaccine, like polio or measles,” says William Schaffner, a professor at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. “Even in the best of times, it’s not capable of completely eliminating infections.”
