This season’s flu shot halves the risk of hospitalization

Feb. 23, 2023 — The flu vaccine has been very effective this year, according to the CDC, although the flu season got off to one of the earliest and strongest starts on record.

“Vaccination provided substantial protection against inpatient, emergency department, and outpatient illness at all ages,” said Mark Tenforde, MD, of the CDC’s Influenza Division, according to CNN.

Health officials estimate that so far this flu season, vaccines have reduced the risk of respiratory virus hospitalization by nearly 50% in adults and nearly 75% in children.

Each season the vaccine is different and is formulated in advance to target strains of the virus that are expected to be widely released. The accuracy of predictions can vary widely. In these last yearseffectiveness has ranged from 29% to 40%, although historically the rate has dropped as low as 10% or reached 60%.

This season, positive flu cases peaked in late November and early December, when 26% of all tests came back positive. The holiday season surge raised alarm that the flu could overwhelm hospitals, many of which were already struggling with high levels of another respiratory virus known as RSV. Instead, flu levels have steadily declined and currently only 1.7% of all tests are positive for flu.

Officials noted that the flu vaccine was particularly effective in children this year. However, the rate of pediatric flu deaths has rebounded to approach pre-COVID levels. There have been 111 pediatric flu deaths so far this season. There was one pediatric flu death in the 2020-21 season and 45 in 2021-22.

A new analysis showed that people aged 65 and over who got the flu shot were 39% less likely to go to the emergency room or urgent care and 42% less likely to be hospitalized for the flu or its complications. People with weakened immune systems, such as cancer patients or organ transplant recipients, were 30% less likely to go to the emergency room or urgent care for the flu.

So far this season, the flu has sickened at least 25 million people nationwide and caused 280,000 hospitalizations and 18,000 deaths, according to the CDC’s latest report. Weekly update. The agency continues to recommend that anyone 6 months and older get a flu shot as long as influenza activity continues. Flu season usually ends in April or May.