Flu Shot: Nearly Four in 10 of Those Vaccinated Will Still Get the Flu if Exposed to the Virus
This year's vaccine categorized as only moderately effective.
Think getting a flu shot will provide complete protection against the flu? Think again. During a Jan. 11 press briefing, Dr. Tom Frieden, Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said this year's influenza vaccine has an overall effectiveness of 62 percent. "That means that if you got vaccinated you were about 60 percent less likely to get the flu that required you to go to your doctor," Frieden said according to a transcript of the briefing. "So what we have known for a long time is that the flu vaccine is far from perfect. But it's still by far the best tool we have to prevent the flu," he added. At 62 percent effectiveness, nearly four in 10 people who have been vaccinated will still get the flu if exposed to …
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Elizabeth
10:40 am on Tuesday, January 15, 2013
My husband and I did get a flu shot (as we have for several years), and so far neither of us has ever gotten the flu. more ›