Flu Vaccine Nearly 60 Percent Effective 2015-2016 Season
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention today reported preliminary overall influenza vaccine effectiveness (VE) of 59 percent this season. These data were presented at a meeting of the agency’s Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices (ACIP) in Atlanta. This finding is comparable to past estimates for seasons when most circulating flu viruses and vaccine viruses have been similar.
“This means that getting a flu vaccine this season reduced the risk of having to go to the doctor because of flu by nearly 60 percent,” said Joseph Bresee, M.D., chief of CDC’s Epidemiology and Prevention Branch. “It’s good news and underscores the importance and the benefit of both annual and ongoing vaccination efforts this season.”
There were sufficient data from the U.S. Flu VE Network to also calculate more specific VE estimates:
- 51 percent VE against the H1N1 viruses responsible for most flu illness this season
- 76 percent VE against all influenza B viruses
- 79 percent VE against the B/Yamagata lineage of B viruses
