As fall approaches with signs in nearly every grocery store and pharmacy parking lot advertising the flu vaccine, you may wonder: Is the flu vaccine necessary?
Overall, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends all Americans older than six months get the flu vaccine each season and that it's especially important for people at high risk of flu complications and those who live with or care for them. People at high risk include those with certain medical conditions, such as heart disease, lung disease, HIV and kidney or liver disorders. People who are age 65 and older, pregnant women, and health care professionals are also at risk for flu complications.
Despite these recommendations, opinions differ, even among flu vaccine experts. “There is some controversy surrounding whether or not the flu vaccine is a good idea,” said James Wilde, MD, pediatric emergency medicine physician at Georgia Regents Health System in Augusta who has spent much of his career dealing with flu and prevention. “Personally, I am not a big fan of the flu vaccine,” he said. “I don’t think the flu vaccine is a bad thing, but I do believe it’s only necessary for high risk populations. I don’t agree with the national authorities that say everyone should get a flu vaccine.”
Flu Vaccine and Health
Some research is also less than supportive of the flu vaccine. For instance, a 2011 study, published in the journal Lancet Infectious Diseases, looked at data on the flu vaccine between 1967 and 2011 and reported that, overall, the flu vaccine was only about 60 percent effective in people aged 18 to 65.
Despite skepticism, most medical professionals still recommend the flu vaccine for prevention of flu, particularly among those who are vulnerable to complications. Jon McCullers, MD, Dunavant professor and chair in the department of pediatrics at the University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center and pediatrician-in-chief at Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital in Memphis, is one of them. “I think everyone over age 6 months should get the flu vaccine,” he said.
To make the best decision for yourself and your family members, here are some questions to consider:
How much of a threat is the flu? The flu, or influenza, is a contagious respiratory illness. “The flu is a miserable illness -- you are sick for about a week, and the average person misses three days of school or work,” Dr. McCullers said. “So the number one reason to get the flu vaccine is to avoid this.”
The flu virus can also cause complications, including bacterial pneumonia, sinus infections, ear infections, dehydration, and worsening of chronic health conditions, such as diabetes and asthma. It can also be deadly. According to the CDC, between 1976 and 2006, deaths from the flu in a single season have ranged from 3,000 to 49,000 people.
“A big reason to get the flu vaccine is to avoid passing the flu onto your friends and family,” McCullers added. “Most deaths from the flu are in the elderly, in whom the flu vaccine doesn’t work as well, and their only protection may be you not catching the flu and transmitting it to them.”
How effective is the flu vaccine? Truth is, this varies from year to year. “In general, the flu vaccine will protect about two-thirds of persons who take it. However, this is modified by a lot of personal factors, such as age, previous flu vaccines, the circulating virus, and your immune system, so it is hard to make a blanket statement,” McCullers explained.
A large part of the reason for this fluctuation is that medical professionals must predict the dominant strains months before flu season actually begins. Flu vaccine mismatch happens frequently because the virus has a tendency to change rapidly from year to year, Dr. Wilde said.
Will the flu vaccine give me long-term immunity? No, which is why recommendations are to get the flu vaccine every season. In fact, one reason some medical professionals are less than supportive of all people getting a flu vaccine is that they feel antibodies in the vaccine may not be as protective as antibodies that result from actually having had the flu in the past. “During the 2009 H1N1 flu season, those older than 65 were less likely to get the flu and die from it than others; with most flu seasons, we see the opposite,” Wilde explained. He said this could be because older people had or were exposed to the flu strain that first struck with such force in 1918, a strain that closely resembled the 2009 H1N1 flu. “The thought is that these people had antibodies that persisted for their whole lives, so when they were exposed again in 2009, their immune systems recognized it and fought it off. If this is the case, it makes more sense for young healthy people to get the active illness instead of the flu vaccine for maximum immunity,” he said. “When those people reach age 65, taking the flu vaccine might give them additional protection.”
Can I get the flu from the flu vaccine? Despite people who swear the vaccine gave them the flu last year, McCullers said this is medically impossible. “The flu vaccine is usually given in the fall, when a lot of flu-like viruses are circulating, so a common problem is catching another virus around the time when you get the flu vaccine -- our brains naturally then like to associate these events,” he said.
After weighing all the information, if you're still wondering is the flu vaccine necessary, speak to your health care professional. He or she will be able to give you the best advice about whether the flu vaccine is a good idea for you.