Vaccine News: CDC Claims Flu Vaccine To Be More Effective This Year

According to estimates by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), this year's flu vaccine is among the most efficient on record.

According to preliminary estimates, this season's flu vaccine is 59 percent effective. Since records began a decade ago, this result would make it the second most effective in the United States.

Every year the CDC conduct studies to estimate the level of protection against flu provided by the flu vaccine. Dr. Joseph Bresee, chief of the CDC's Epidemiology and Prevention Branch, explained that this year's flu shot is likely to reduce the risk of getting sick with the flu by almost 60 percent. This season estimate was announced in Atlanta, GA, at a recent meeting of the CDC's Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices (ACIP), according to the publication Medical News Today.

The CDC began estimating annual flu vaccine effectiveness in 2004-2005. Since then, records show the highest level of effectiveness (60%) was produced for the 2010-2011 season while the lowest level of effectiveness was for that season 2004-2005 (10%). The flu vaccine was only 23 percent effective last season (2014-2015).

Medical researchers design the seasonal flu vaccine to protect against those strains of flu viruses predicted to be most common during the coming flu season. For this season, the preliminary 59 percent estimated vaccine effectiveness means around 79 percent effective against the B/Yamagata lineage of B viruses, 76 percent effective against all influenza B viruses and 51 percent effective against the H1N1 viruses.

The CDC declared that, by November, around 40 percent of Americans received flu vaccinations. Nationwide, the statistics show that this has been an overall mild flu season.

The best way to prevent seasonal flu, according to the CDC, is to have an annual flu vaccine even if the effectiveness can vary. Everyone aged 6 months and older is recommended to have the annual vaccine.

This year's vaccine has been well-matched to the flu viruses, according to Dr. Marc Itskowitz, a primary care specialist at Allegheny Health Network, cited by TribLive. Itskowitz explained that because influenza viruses in the U.S. had mutated, last season's flu vaccine was less effective.