The good news about the 2012-13 influenza season in the United States is that for the fourth week in a row, health care providers reported that they are seeing fewer patients who have influenza-like illnesses, according to the today's report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Information that is less comforting is the determination that this year's seasonal flu vaccination offered little protection to people age 65 years and older, especially to one strain of influenza, H3N2.
Statistical Influenza Updates for Week Ending February 16, 2013
Every region in the nation reported fewer new cases of influenza than in the previous week. Nevada, New Jersey and Vermont reported high levels of influenza activity while the rest of the country reported minimal to moderate levels of the illness.
Despite the lower numbers of newly reported cases for the week, the mortality rate for influenza spiked to its highest level of the season, in what is considered to be epidemic proportions, even higher than that in 2008.
Pediatric deaths attributed for some of those cases: 14 children's deaths were reported for the week ending Feb. 16, bringing the total number of reported pediatric deaths due to the flu to 78 so far in this 2012-13 season. In a CDC graph showing the number of pediatric deaths due to the flu since the 2009-10 flu season, this flu season has the second lowest number of children's deaths due to the illness among the four flu seasons depicted.
People Age 65 Years and Older Hardest Hit by this Season's Flu
The CDC issued a report on Thursday explaining the flu vaccine's effectiveness in the 2012-13 flu season. The vaccine's effectiveness in preventing influenza in those age 65 years and older was reported to be a dismal 9 percent and a 56 percent effectiveness rate in children and adults younger than age 65 years.The H3N2 influenza strain proved to be the most resistant to this years vaccine, not only in those age 65 years and older, but in their younger counterparts as well.
The CDC report explained that people age 65 years and older traditionally account for 65 percent of hospitalizations due to the flu and 90 percent of flu-related deaths are in this segment of the population. Not only is the vaccine's effectiveness known to be less in this age group than among younger people, but this population segment has an overall less efficient immune system and often the health of the members of this age group is compromised by chronic health conditions, causing them to be more susceptible to the complications of influenza.
Should People Age 65 Years and Older Still Get the Flu Vaccine?
The CDC stressed the importance of people age 65 years and older becoming vaccinated against the flu each season for a number of reasons. In some flu seasons, the flu vaccines have protected seniors against the flu strains very well; this particular season isn't representative of the overall picture, the public health agency explained. Even though some of the seniors who were vaccinated became ill, the vaccine may have protected them against more severe illness or flu complications. People in this age group are at high risk for developing severe flu symptoms, complications and even death. The vaccine decreases those risks.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/flu-vaccine-barely-effective-u-seniors-225100197.html
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