NEW YORK (AP) — As predicted, this year’s flu vaccine is doing a pretty crummy job. Health officials say a new study shows it’s only 23 percent effective.
That’s one of the worst performances since the government started tracking how well vaccines work a decade ago. The best flu vaccines were 50 to 60 percent effective.
But this year, the vaccine doesn’t include the specific virus that is making most people sick. Early in the season, officials warned the vaccine probably would not work very well.
The study results were released Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Comments are not available on this story. Read more about why we allow commenting on some stories and not on others.
We believe it's important to offer commenting on certain stories as a benefit to our readers. At its best, our comments sections can be a productive platform for readers to engage with our journalism, offer thoughts on coverage and issues, and drive conversation in a respectful, solutions-based way. It's a form of open discourse that can be useful to our community, public officials, journalists and others.
We do not enable comments on everything — exceptions include most crime stories, and coverage involving personal tragedy or sensitive issues that invite personal attacks instead of thoughtful discussion.
You can read more here about our commenting policy and terms of use. More information is also found on our FAQs.
Show less