"Pros do their best to predict which strain will likely circulate most widely in a given year . . . and then the egg-based concoctions get underway; the problem is the strain that's targeted vs. the one that actually spreads, as pointed out."
Exactly. Apparently, it takes many months to create, then produce a flu vaccine in enough quantity to distribute to the masses. So every year there's a certain amount of 'guestimation' involved way in advance of actual flu season, with predicting what strains will be most active. And both tend to be different from one year to the next. Some years they guess better than others and those years, the vaccine works better, naturally. This year, not so much... Even so, I've heard many say that even this year's vaccine might reduce the severity for someone who gets sick in spite of getting a flu shot. |
