Benjamin Lee, M.D., associate professor of pediatrics at the Larner College of Medicine and a pediatric infectious diseases physician at the UVM Children’s Hospital, was quoted in a U.S. News & World Report article on current flu shot recommendations.
“A flu vaccine may not guarantee perfect protection against the flu,” Lee says, “but skipping your flu shot simply guarantees you’ll have no protection at all.”
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says people 6 months old and up should get a flu shot. That’s pretty much the same advice the CDC has given in the past.
The best time to take the jab is September, October, or early November, doctors say. That not only gives your body time to build up antibodies as outbreaks begin, it also helps ensure your protection won’t disappear before flu season ends.
This year’s flu vaccine protects against two influenza A viruses and one influenza B virus. Scientists tweaked the formula, as recommended by the World Health Organization, to target a specific strain of the A/H3N2 virus that is expected to circulate this season.
As always, though, other strains may emerge. Sometimes the shot is a good match for the virus; other times, it’s been less so.
In other words, a flu shot is not guaranteed to protect against the influenza strain that emerges each winter. Instead, the vaccine is intended to help keep people out of the hospital or the intensive care unit and prevent deadly infections.