It’s Flu Season

Be aware/ Beware

It’s flu season. The flu may seem common – just last year, there was an estimate of 45 million cases of the flu – but the flu is still a dangerous and contagious disease. Contrary to the common cold, the symptoms of the influenza are more severe. But the severity of the disease also has to do with the risk of getting a secondary disease, specifically pneumonia. Vaccination is a great way to prevent the spread of the disease but also, for those already ill, stay at home and get some rest.

Vaccine effectiveness

CDC does not have a measure of the effectiveness of the flu vaccines for this season yet because it is only February, but the viruses circulating are similar to the viruses tested. Receiving the vaccine is important: it can prevent spread of the virus and protect people against the flu. Even if the vaccine does not include the circulating strain, the vaccine can help lessen the severity of the flu. According to CDC, taking the vaccine can help reduce the risk of the flu in the overall population by 40-60%; preventing the spread of the virus helps protect the people who cannot receive the vaccine. For example, people with severe egg allergies used to not be able to take some previous vaccines.

No eggs.

Previous vaccines were made using an egg-based manufacturing process. The flu vaccines could potentially cause an allergic reaction in people with egg allergies (this is more common in children than in adults). The flu vaccine can also be considered inappropriate for people who follow a vegan diet. However, this season offers vaccines that are not egg-based – the vaccine is instead grown in a cell culture. These cell-grown vaccine viruses may be more similar to the circulating viruses, but there is no data to support this so there is no preference between the egg- and cell-based vaccines.