Flu vaccine appears to be a very good match to circulating strains, CDC says - CNN

CNN  — 

This year’s flu changeable appears to beryllium “a precise bully match” to the circulating strains, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said astatine a quality briefing Monday. However, she noted that flu vaccinations are lagging down the gait of erstwhile years.

Through the extremity of October, CDC data shows that vaccinations for large women, a radical that is much susceptible to terrible unwellness from influenza, are down astir 12% from the aforesaid constituent successful 2021.

Vaccination rates for seniors, the property radical astir apt to beryllium hospitalized with influenza, were down astir 3 percent points from October 2021.

Flu vaccinations for children are down astir 5% compared with wherever they were earlier the Covid-19 pandemic, Walensky said.

In a emblematic year, astir 60% of American adults get vaccinated against influenza.

Flu play has gotten disconnected to an aboriginal and terrible commencement successful the US, with hospitalization rates hitting levels that typically aren’t seen until December oregon January.

“We, of course, look successful existent clip arsenic to however good we deliberation the influenza lucifer is to what is circulating close now. The bully quality is that looks similar it is simply a precise bully match,” Walensky said of the aboriginal commencement to the respiratory microorganism season.

She noted that the CDC would person much definitive information aboriginal successful the play but that the information is encouraging.

Walensky said that adjacent erstwhile the vaccine doesn’t intimately lucifer the circulating flu strains, “We spot a 35% alteration successful rates of hospitalization … which truly conscionable emphasizes, erstwhile we bash person a bully match, however overmuch much effectual it volition be.”

CDC information shows that astir 20,000 radical successful the United States were admitted to the infirmary for flu during the week of Thanksgiving, astir treble the fig of admissions from the week before.

Covid-19 hospitalizations person ticked up arsenic well, rising 27% successful the week aft Thanksgiving. But Covid-19 is nary longer the lone microorganism straining hospitals.

Just 5% of the US colonisation lives successful an country considered to person a precocious Covid-19 assemblage level.

Walensky said Monday that the CDC was “actively looking into” expanding its assemblage levels beyond Covid-19 to see the effects of different viruses, specified arsenic the flu.

“In the meantime, what I bash privation to accidental is, 1 request not instrumentality hold for CDC enactment successful bid to enactment a mask,” she said.

People who are sick should enactment location and distant from others, usage bully hygiene similar covering coughs and washing hands frequently, usage a high-quality disguise and amended the ventilation successful indoor spaces, Walensky said.

If you bash get sick, it’s important to get tested, adjacent if you’ve been vaccinated, said Dr. Sandra Fryhofer, committee seat of the American Medical Association and an interior medicine doc successful Atlanta.

If you person Covid-19 oregon the flu, determination are antiviral medications for both. But flu antivirals don’t enactment against Covid-19, and vice versa.

“It is going to beryllium a confusing respiratory infections season. Figuring retired what’s making radical sick is going to beryllium a conundrum,” Fryhofer said.

In effect to a question astir shortages of cardinal medications during this unsmooth microorganism season, Walensky said that “CDC is alert of the reports of immoderate of the shortages for some antivirals arsenic good arsenic antibiotics crossed the country. I cognize FDA is working…with manufacturers to effort and research what tin beryllium done to code this.”

She besides urged doctors not to prescribe antibiotics for illnesses caused by viruses.

Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious illness adept astatine Vanderbilt University Medical Center successful Nashville, said helium and his colleagues person been astonished by the steep summation successful flu cases this season. They person besides wondered what could beryllium causing it.

He says it’s apt that aft 2 years without overmuch flu enactment successful the US, we mislaid immoderate of our immunity against that microorganism conscionable arsenic the state has returned to much mean question and enactment patterns.

“Some of it has got to bash with our behaviors successful the past, having avoided flu and present opening up our lives to activities specified arsenic travel, spiritual services, getting unneurotic with families, going retired to amusement venues and doing each those things that instrumentality america into groups,” helium said.

The flu vaccines are bully astatine preventing terrible outcomes, helium said, but they don’t bash overmuch to halt the virus’ spread.

“It keeps you retired of the exigency room, the hospital, the intensive attraction portion and the cemetery. It’s not precise bully astatine interrupting transmission, and it is not precise bully astatine preventing milder infection,” helium said.

Schaffner says it’s apt that flu hospitalizations are going up due to the fact that the microorganism is hitting the elderly, who, connected the whole, thin to get little extortion from vaccinations.

“The vaccine works slightest good among the colonisation we astir privation to protect, namely older people, and that’s due to the fact that they person immune systems that are overmuch little robust than the immune systems of younger people.”

Schaffner noted that determination are high-dose vaccines for seniors, which are preferred for this property radical to assistance summation their protection.