Annual flu shot is still an important lifesaver

Wrongly dismissed sometimes as simply the "flu bug,'' influenza remains one of the wiliest and most dangerous of foes to human health. That point was underscored late last week with the announcement that this season's vaccine didn't match up well with circulating flu strains.

In the United States alone, more than 200,000 people are hospitalized each year because of the virus. Flu complications kill about 36,000 -- most of them elderly. Yet scientists are still learning how influenza spreads across the world. Each year, new or different strains of the evolving virus sicken people. Deciding which ones the annual shot protects against is, at best, an educated guess by experts who study where the disease is popping up around the world.

Sometimes scientists miss the mark. That's essentially what happened this year. The predominant strain making people sick was an influenza A variant named for the Australian city in which it was identified -- Brisbane. The vaccine protected against a related A strain, but it wasn't an exact match. The shot also appeared to provide minimal protection against circulating influenza B strains.

Is that a reason to forgo a flu shot next fall? Not at all.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently expanded influenza vaccine recommendations to include school-aged children. It already recommended the shots for those 50 and older and children ages 6 months to 5 years, as well as various other groups, such as health-care workers. A record number of doses -- 113 million -- were distributed in the United States this flu season.

That's still good health policy. Keep in mind that influenza is a virus; antibiotics don't work against it. Some antiviral drugs are available once infection occurs, but without a doubt prevention is most effective.

More years than not, experts get it right, pushing the vaccine's effectiveness to 70 percent or more. Even when the predictions are off, the shot still confers some protection. Those who got this year's shot were 44 percent less likely to be diagnosed with the flu overall than those who were not vaccinated.

Scientists are increasingly better able to track influenza strains' yearly movement across the world. Yet the United States depends on decades-old technology to mass-produce the vaccine. Typically, experts place their bets on what to put into the shot months before the flu season begins. Manufacturers need that much lead time.

It's an imperfect process critically in need of updating. Still, even during off years, the vaccine saves lives. An annual shot remains one of the most important health measures available.