Who doesn’t enjoy the change of seasons? From the first snow of winter and falling leaves in autumn to blooming flowers of spring and warm lazy days of summer, each season has its own charm!
But the changing season also means watery and sore eyes, dry cough, sniffles, headache, fever, fatigue, muscle, and joint pains. All these symptoms make us feel helpless and irritated! No matter how many layers you wear, these undesirable symptoms start to kick in as soon as it starts getting a little chilly.
We become vulnerable to changing seasons, and that is why we catch flu and colds. Influenza is the most common contagious virus that causes respiratory illnesses such as flu. However, the flu vaccine helps us protect from getting ill with flu.
Let’s explore the effectiveness and benefits of flu shots in this blog. Shall we begin?
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How effective is Flu Vaccine?
As a matter of fact, flu shots lower the chances of getting the flu by up to 60%.
Flu vaccines prevent people from getting sick, and if we talk about their effectiveness, it keeps changing with each passing flu season. Researchers around the world monitor influenza throughout the year, keeping a few factors in mind, for example, age, patients’ medical history, personal characteristics, etc.
The main reason for conducting these researches is to closely observe how flu viruses make people sick and how effectively current flu shots are working.
The table below shows the effectiveness of the flu vaccination for the past five flu seasons, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimations.
Flu season | Percent vaccine effectiveness |
2019–2020 | 39 percent |
2018–2019 | 29 percent |
2017–2018 | 38 percent |
2016–2017 | 40 percent |
2015–2016 | 48 percent |
Does Flu Vaccine Effectiveness Vary According to Age Groups?
It’s more likely that there can be some variation in the effectiveness of the vaccine between different age groups.
The flu vaccine doesn’t seem to work well for older people aged 65, particularly adult women. It may as well be less useful for obese people or individuals who have other health conditions.
The CDC estimated the effectiveness for all vaccine types and across different age groups from the past five flu seasons.
Flu season | All ages | 6 months to 8 years | 9–17 years | 18–49 years | 50–64 years | 65 years and older |
2019–2020 | 39 percent | 34 percent | 40 percent | 34 percent | 40 percent | 39 percent |
2018–2019 | 29 percent | 48 percent | 7 percent | 25 percent | 14 percent | 12 percent |
2017–2018 | 38 percent | 68 percent | 32 percent | 33 percent | 30 percent | 17 percent |
2016–2017 | 40 percent | 57 percent | 36 percent | 19 percent | 40 percent | 20 percent |
2015–2016 | 48 percent | 51 percent | 59 percent | 52 percent | 26 percent | 42 percent |
When looking at vaccine effectiveness recorded data, it’s important to remember that several factors can also influence the estimated results. These factors can include specific flu season, the population studied, also when and how the research was conducted.
What are the advantages of getting the flu vaccine?
Even though the influenza viruses can’t hurt you, but your immune system still sees them as a risk. As you have already figured out the effectiveness of flu shots, it’s time to address the second query of the day. To answer your concern, yes, flu vaccinations protect you against influenza. Let’s now find out how does it work.
The Flu Vaccine Lessens the Risk of Getting Sick
One of the primary benefits of the flu vaccine is that it prevents you from becoming sick with the flu. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimations, flu vaccinations prevented around 7.52 million people in the United States in 2019–2020.
Though the flu usually causes mild to moderate symptoms in many individuals, getting sick is almost always unpleasant. Besides, it makes it problematic to carry on with our daily life. It can also lead to frequent doctor’s visits and missed days of work or school. Of course, no one wants to go to their office with a box of tissue.
Helps Prevent Serious Illness
The flu can lead to possibly severe complications such as pneumonia or the worsening of certain health conditions. Some individuals are more at risk for severe sickness from the flu. Which includes:
- 65 years old adults
- 5 years old or younger children
- pregnant or lactating women
- individuals with chronic health issues, like heart disease, asthma, and diabetes
- those with a weakened immune system
Getting the flu vaccine may help protect these higher-risk individuals from contracting the flu and possibly becoming more ill.
Decreases the Severity of Flu Symptoms
People who get the flu vaccine still become sick with the flu. However, there’s an indication that symptoms might be less serious in these individuals.
It is crucial to keep in mind that seasonal allergies also have the same flu symptoms, so it’s quite possible that flu shot can reduce the severity of those symptoms.
How Long is the Flu Vaccine Effective For?
Typically, a flu vaccination ought to protect you throughout the recent flu season, making it mandatory to get another flu shot for the next flu season. There are some reasons why a flu vaccine proves to be effective for only one flu season.
The first aspect is that influenza viruses change continuously. The reason is that the straining intricated in this year’s flu vaccine might not be the most common strain during the next year’s flu season.
The second factor is the level of immunity protection produced by the flu vaccine decreases over time.
What is the Right Time to Get Vaccinated?
The CDC suggests that getting your flu vaccine by the end of October each year can provide valuable protection.
It’s usually a great rule of thumb to avoid getting vaccinated early, like in June or July. The reason is that immunity generated by the vaccination wanes over time. This makes you exposed to an increased risk for catching the flu later in the season if you get the vaccine early.
The bottom line is,
In this blog, we have discussed that the flu vaccine helps prevent you from getting sick with the flu. It also decreases the seriousness of the sickness in case you become ill. In addition, vaccination can help stop influenza viruses from circulating in your community as influenza virus spreads if you get in contact with the infected person.
Flu shot effectiveness varies from one year to the next because of several factors. Its efficiency can be affected by viral evolution and by the subtype of influenza that’s predominant in a given year. Individual factors like overall health and age also play an essential role.
Because influenza viruses are always transforming and the immunity generated by the flu vaccine decreases over time, you will be required to get a new flu vaccine every season.