Arizona health chief: Get flu shot even when it lacks efficacy

PHOENIX – Arizona’s top public health official said reports of the flu vaccine’s ineffectiveness shouldn’t deter people from getting their annual shot.

“Even when there’s a low efficacy, it’s still providing some level of protection to people who are getting it, either resulting in them not getting ill or resulting in them having less severe symptoms,” Dr. Cara Christ, director for Arizona Department of Health Services, told KTAR News 92.3 FM.

Christ said there were 33,000 cases of the flu in Arizona this season, which exceeded the numbers from the 2009 pandemic. She added that there are 400 to 700 deaths associated with the flu annually in the state.

A recent study by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that even in seasons when the vaccine is only 20 percent effective, it could save 61,000 lives.

The study also found that the number of people getting vaccinated was a more important to flu prevention than the efficacy of the vaccine.

“So we always recommend that people get vaccinated, even if they’re hearing information that it’s not as effective as last year’s or it’s not as effective as it should be, because some effectiveness still provides protection,” Christ said.

Last year’s vaccine was estimated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to be 36 percent effective.

“When you get vaccinated, it trains your immune system to respond to the flu virus,” Christ said. “And so it can prevent you from coming down with the virus, or if you do come down with the virus, potentially not allowing those secondary infections to set in, which can be so dangerous and can result in you getting hospitalized or even dying from influenza.”

Related

Retired Gilbert fire captain honored after dying from job-related cancerStorms make way into Valley with strong winds, scattered showers causing power outages4-year-old boy dies a month after being pulled from Phoenix apartment poolTucson Police identify, charge mass shooting suspect who left 9 injuredNBA star James Harden among investors bringing Smiling Moose Sandwich Grill to ScottsdaleMan accused of fatally shooting girlfriend in Peoria mobile home park