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Originally Posted by Descant
Thank you.
Despite the availability of vaccine, I thin k we've all heard people say, every fall, "I'm healthy. I never get the flu shot." "I had it once, so I'm immune." When we see flu numbers, we never hear of the percent who were vaccinated in the last 12 months, or not, as the case may be.
Can you shed light on this? Thanks for sharing your expertise, doctor.
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https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/mm6907a1.htm
The CDC has all this data if the link works. As you might guess, the vaccination rates vary by age,location,sex,etc etc. Preliminary data suggest overall the vaccination rate is about 50% and efficacy of this year’s vaccine is about 45%. This varies some each year and the exact influenza viruses change each year and even during the same season.
The most important fact is that getting the flu vaccine does help prevent your getting it and if you get it, vaccination decreases the severity of the illness.
The benefits of vaccination outweigh the risks associated with it. Although Covid 19 is a greater risk for the elderly; this is not necessarily true of flu depending on the specific influenza virus.