This Year’s Flu Shot ‘Very Good Match’ for Circulating Strains

ATLANTA — This year’s flu shot so far appears to be a “very good match” for the circulating strains, but more people — especially children, adults over 65 and pregnant women — need to take advantage of it to contain this year’s outbreak, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Monday.

The warning by CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky came as data from the industry showed that nearly 20,000 people across the U.S. were admitted to the hospital for flu during the week of Thanksgiving.

Though flu season tends to worsen around the holidays as family, work and friend gatherings increase, the Thanksgiving week number was almost double the number of hospital admissions from the week before.

“We, of course, look in real time as to how well we think the influenza [vaccine] match is to what is circulating right now,” Walensky told reporters during the Monday briefing.

“The good news is that it looks like it is a very good match,” she said.

Walensky went on to note that even when the vaccine doesn’t closely match the circulating flu strains, “we see a 35% decrease in rates of hospitalization.”

“Which really just emphasizes, when we do have a good match, how much more effective it will be,” she said.

The CDC estimates that since October, there have been at least 8.7 million cases of the flu, resulting in 78,000 hospitalizations and 4,500 deaths.

Walensky said the hospitalization numbers, which are captured by the Department of Health and Human Services hospitalization surveillance system, “continue to be the highest we have seen at this time of year in a decade.”

Tragically, 14 of those that have died have been young children, with two of them dying in the past week from the flu.

“So I want to emphasize that flu vaccines can be lifesaving and, importantly, there is still time to get vaccinated to be protected against flu this season,” she said.

In a typical year, about 60% of American adults get vaccinated against influenza, which is an infection of the nose, throat and lungs.

Though influenza is commonly called the flu, it’s not the same as stomach “flu” viruses that cause diarrhea and vomiting.

Through the end of October, CDC data shows that vaccinations for pregnant women, a group that is more vulnerable to severe illness from influenza, are down about 12% from the same point in 2021.

Vaccination rates for seniors, the age group most likely to be hospitalized with influenza, were down about 3 percentage points from October 2021, and flu vaccinations for children are down about 5% compared with where they were before the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to the Mayo Clinic, most people with the flu get better on their own, but complications can be deadly. 

People at higher risk of developing flu complications include:

• Young children under age 2.
• Adults older than age 65.
• Residents of nursing homes and other long-term care facilities.
• People who are pregnant or plan to be pregnant during flu season.
• People with weakened immune systems.
• Native Americans or Alaska Natives.
• People who have chronic illnesses, such as asthma, heart disease, kidney disease, liver disease and diabetes.
• People with a body mass index of 40 or higher.

Although the annual influenza vaccine isn’t 100% effective, it reduces the chances of having severe complications from infection, the clinic says on its website.

Walensky told reporters COVID-19 hospitalizations have ticked up as well, rising 27% in the week after Thanksgiving.

“This rise in cases and hospitalizations is especially worrisome as we move into the winter months when more people are assembling indoors with less ventilation,” she said. “And as we approach the holiday season where many are gathering with loved ones across multiple generations.

“Additionally, RSV continues to remain high nationally with variations and activity levels regionally,” Walensky continued, noting that there are signs RSV may have peaked in the South and Southeast and may be leveling off in the Mid-Atlantic, New England and Midwest.

“While this is encouraging, respiratory viruses continue to spread at high levels nationwide,” the CDC director said. “And even in areas where RSV may be decreasing, our hospital systems continue to be stressed with high numbers of patients with other respiratory illnesses.”

Walensky closed her comments by offering “three important steps” everyone should take to reduce the burden of respiratory illnesses.

“First and foremost, get vaccinated for two of the three viruses we’ve discussed,” she said. “There are … updated COVID-19 bivalent vaccines and flu vaccines that are safe, effective and that can lower the risk of infection in general, and especially lower the risk of severe illness and death.

“Second, take your everyday preventive actions, such as covering your coughs and sneezes, staying away from people who are sick and staying home if you yourself are sick, washing your hands and improving ventilation in your home and workplaces,” Walensky continued. “We also encourage you to wear a high-quality, well-fitting mask to prevent the spread of respiratory illnesses, most especially for those in the 5% of the population currently living in counties with high COVID-19 community level.

“Third, and finally, if you do get sick, talk to your health care provider as soon as you have symptoms, so that treatments can be started within the first few days of illness when they are most effective,” she said.

Dan can be reached at [email protected] and @DanMcCue