This year's flu season has taken a deadly toll. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Friday that 19 more children have died of influenza and many more being infected. The death toll now has reached 45 since the flu season started in fall, CBS News reported.
The weekly tallying of the flu situation in all 46 states is rather disappointing this January. Health officials are concerned on the continuous rise of flu cases and the apparent failure of the flu vaccine to protect people against the main strain of the flu virus.
Flu viruses mutate and it is very hard to keep up. However, the CDC still recommends people to be vaccinated in order to protect them from other strains of the virus. Unfortunately, the agency reported that this year's vaccine can only provide 23% efficacy in preventing the flu virus.
They added that people who are older than 65 years old and children are at higher risk of serious complications from the flu virus. Also, those who had underlying medical conditions are more vulnerable to complications from flu. In fact, according to CDC, 93% of those hospitalized with the flu have at least one underlying medical condition.
Accordingly, the flu vaccine can also prevent the infection of H1N1 and influenza B. "We often see B that comes out and circulates late in the year. And still, 30 percent of the viruses that we seeing are well-matched to the vaccine." said Dr. Joe Bresee, CDC's flu expert.
Yearly, flu kills around 4,000 and 50,000 people in the United States alone. Because flu viruses mutate like crazy, doctors recommend having a new flu vaccine yearly. However, a new promise swirls as scientists are closer to developing universal flu vaccine that can kill all strains of the virus.
