Can Flu Vaccination Protect People from the Flu?

Influenza, commonly known as the flu, is a respiratory illness resulting from the influenza viruses, especially from the viruses A and B. It is contagious and the severity ranges from mild to severe and may cause death in some cases. Annually, the flu season starts late fall and lasts till late winter. When it comes to flu vaccination, according to the article published by CDC, flu viruses changes constantly. Thus, the flu vaccinations compose of different attenuated strains every year.

The effectiveness of the flu vaccination is always in question by many people as flu season rolls around each year. Based on the report published on CDC, there are various factors that determines the effectiveness of the vaccines such as age and health conditions of the person as well as the similarity between the strains in the vaccine and the circulating flu viruses. Along with that, the timing of vaccination plays some role in effectiveness of the vaccines. The onset of the flu is unpredictable so there is no exact time to when the vaccination should be given. However, it is recommended that vaccines should be available by end of October according to the report published on CDC. Even though it is not guaranteed that vaccines will prevent vaccinated person from getting the flu, it does provide crucial protection from the illness and the complications that may follow.

As Dr. Cramer always says, “Protection is better than no protection at all!”, I definitely agree with that saying and I’m strongly in favor of the flu vaccination. As stated on the paragraph above, although vaccines cannot provide 100% protection from the flu, it still serves as a method of prevention for older adults, people with health complications and pregnant women according to the article published in NPR. The article also states that based on the recommendations from the WHO infectious disease experts, the 2019-20 vaccine contains four live, attenuated strains: two influenza A strains that are changed from last year’s strains to match the circulating viruses and two influenza B strains that stayed the same. I believe this year’s vaccine is effective because the disease experts continue to find strains that are most similar to that of the circulating viruses and it’ll still be used as preventative measure for the complications that follows the flu.