Q&A of the Day – Efficacy of Flu Vaccines
Each day I feature a listener question sent by one of these methods.
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Today’s Entry: The weather has turned pleasant and the thundering herd is
beginning to head south. What are your thoughts on the flu vaccine? Could you contrast the covid vs the flu vaccine? I am 75 years old, does age make a difference in my decision?
Bottom Line: It's always advisable to follow your doctor's recommendations. For many those recommendations include obtaining your flu vaccine and that’s my advice to you as you’re wondering whether you should get a flu shot this year. Now with that said, as an analyst, I’m happy to breakdown the knowns involving your questions about the COVI and flu vaccines.
The reason people get flu shots? To avoid obtaining the flu of course. As we know, all doesn't always work out as planned. The flu vaccine is most often one of these circumstances. How often is it highly effective? The odds are generally against it and you. The CDC has tracked the flu vaccine's effectiveness with its current methodology (adjusting for demographics) since 2004. Here's the scorecard.
- Most effective: 60% (2010)
- Least effective: 10% (2004)
- 2023’s efficacy: 42%
- Average of the previous ten years: 37%
In only one of the previous ten years (2013) have we had a flu vaccine that was more effective in combating the flu than not. The reason for this is pretty simple. The flu vaccine is configured most years in April/May and finalized in June. What commonly happens to viruses? They mutate. That's why no two flu vaccines are the same. By the time flu season rolls around there's often a better than not chance that the strain you'll come across has moved on from whatever form of evil the scientists were attempting to combat.
Here’s the percentage of people who had a flu shot last year:
- Adults 18–34: 35.6%
- Adults 35–49: 39.5%
- Adults 50–64: 49.6%
- Adults 65 and older: 71.3%
- Overall: 44.9%
Obviously, vaccination rates varied significantly based on age with most over 65 obtaining a vaccination. That is due older adults being more vulnerable to the effects of the flu. According to the CDC people at increased risk of the flu include:
- Adults 65 years and older
- Children younger than 2 years old
- People with various preexisting conditions/diseases
In Florida, we’re far less likely to get a flu shot than the country overall. Here’s the breakout in our state from last year:
- 39% flu vaccination rate
- 46th nationally in flu vaccination coverage
Notably, since the pandemic, vaccination rates of all types have declined a bit. This is no doubt related to many Americans feeling as though they were sold a bill of goods pertaining to COVID-19 vaccine efficacy. The reality is that there aren’t cures for viruses. Viruses mutate and the best we can do and hope for is to contain the threat, practice good hygiene and condition our immune systems to effectively combat viruses if we contract them (which is what a vaccine is designed to do). Regarding the difference between flu vaccines and COVID-19 vaccines...
There are two types of COVID-19 vaccines available. The mRNA vaccines offered by Pfizer and Moderna that use spike proteins to trigger an immune response and the Protein subunit vaccine offered by Novavax which uses an inactive protein from the virus. There are also two types of flu vaccines.
The traditional shot that uses inactive virus strains and a nasal spray that contains a weakened strain of the virus aimed at triggering an immune response.
I believe you should also have the facts to consider when making decisions, especially regarding your health. Hopefully this was helpful.