Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
This Year's Flu Vaccine Only 23 Percent Effective, According To CDC
The Washington Post: CDC: Flu Vaccine Only 23 Percent Effective This Season, But Still Better Than Nothing
So it turns out this season's flu vaccine was kind of a dud. Getting it reduced a person's chance of having to visit the doctor because of the flu by only 23 percent -- and possibly even less for many adults -- according to data released Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Dennis, 1/15)
NPR: This Year's Flu Vaccine Is Pretty Wimpy, But Can Still Help
As expected, this year's flu vaccine looks like it's pretty much of a dud. The vaccine only appears to cut the chances that someone will end up sick with the flu by 23 percent, according to the first estimate of the vaccine's effectiveness by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC had predicted this year's vaccine wouldn't work very well because the main strain of the flu virus that's circulating this year, known as an H3N2 virus, mutated slightly after the vaccine was created. That enables the virus to evade the immune system response created by getting vaccinated. (Stein, 1/15)
