Oh, this is JUST GREAT

Flu vaccines don't match the main circulating flu virus strain, researchers find
[www.cnn.com]

One of the main circulating influenza viruses has changed and the current flu vaccines don't match it well any more -- an indication they may not do much to prevent infection, researchers reported Thursday. But they are still likely to prevent severe illness.

"From our lab-based studies it looks like a major mismatch," Scott Hensley, a professor of microbiology at the University of Pennsylvania who led the study, told CNN.

It's bad news for the vaccine, he said. Influenza vaccines protect against four different strains of the flu: H3N2, H1N1 and two strains of influenza B. Hensley's study only covers H3N2, but that happens to be the main circulating strain.

The vaccine mismatch may help explain an outbreak of flu at the University of Michigan last month that affected more than 700 people. More than 26% of those who tested positive had been vaccinated against flu -- the same percentage as those who tested negative. That indicates the vaccine was not effective in preventing infection.

It's what flu viruses do, Hensley said. "We have been monitoring this virus for several months," he said. Flu viruses mutate all the time—far more than other viruses, including the coronavirus. And different variations can circulate at the same time. But this version of H3N2 has changes that help it escape the antibodies the body makes in response to vaccines.

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Oooops.

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“A sword never kills anybody; it is a tool in the killer's hand.” Seneca the Younger

The police have no duty to respond. See Castle Rock v. Gonzales, 545 U.S. 748 (2005) or Warren v. District of Columbia[1] (444 A.2d. 1, D.C. Ct. of Ap. 1981)

Judge Lee wrote that “we cannot jettison our constitutional rights, even if the goal behind a law is laudable." 9th Circuit Court of Appeals

[www.youtube.com]

It has been the general practice to base vaccines for the Northern Hemisphere on the virus distribution observed during the previous season in the Southern Hemisphere.

It would not be a surprise if the masking practices and reduction in travel due to the pandemic have served to reduce this predictability.

that is a great point.

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“A sword never kills anybody; it is a tool in the killer's hand.” Seneca the Younger

The police have no duty to respond. See Castle Rock v. Gonzales, 545 U.S. 748 (2005) or Warren v. District of Columbia[1] (444 A.2d. 1, D.C. Ct. of Ap. 1981)

Judge Lee wrote that “we cannot jettison our constitutional rights, even if the goal behind a law is laudable." 9th Circuit Court of Appeals

[www.youtube.com]

The flu vaccine has never been effective against A H3N2, and it has to do with eggs used in vaccine production.
[www.cdc.gov]

The article is a bit inflammatory in my opinion, given the antivax climate. Flu vaccine efficacy has never been above 60% and can be as low as 40% according to the CDC.

Still, you are better off getting that shot.

I'm not surprised. I got the flu vaccine together with a Covid booster four weeks ago. Last week I was out of commission with the flu for four days.

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The arts are not luxuries but assets that give way more than they cost.
--Ronald Tucker on YouTube

A mind is like a parachute. It doesn't work if it is not open.
--Frank Zappa

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Sam3
I'm not surprised. I got the flu vaccine together with a Covid booster four weeks ago. Last week I was out of commission with the flu for four days.

If you were out of commission for only four days are you sure it was actually flu?

Paul

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voodoopenguin

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Sam3
I'm not surprised. I got the flu vaccine together with a Covid booster four weeks ago. Last week I was out of commission with the flu for four days.

If you were out of commission for only four days are you sure it was actually flu?

Paul

Now you have me wondering what a “typical” symptomatic period is for influenza. I’d considered 2-4 days to be “a cold” but that a very similar timeframe with stronger symptoms to be “flu.”

It’s possible I’ve never had the flu. I can’t remember ever being sick for a longer time than about a week.

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deckeda

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voodoopenguin

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Sam3
I'm not surprised. I got the flu vaccine together with a Covid booster four weeks ago. Last week I was out of commission with the flu for four days.

If you were out of commission for only four days are you sure it was actually flu?

Paul

Now you have me wondering what a “typical” symptomatic period is for influenza. I’d considered 2-4 days to be “a cold” but that a very similar timeframe with stronger symptoms to be “flu.”

It’s possible I’ve never had the flu. I can’t remember ever being sick for a longer time than about a week.

I looked at various websites to see the differences between a cold, a flu, and Covid-19. The types of symptoms experienced certainly followed flu symptoms, one of the biggest being a fever of over 102F. Colds don't get fevers higher than 100.x Plus, any cold symptoms, like a runny, stuffy nose and congestion disappeared after the first day.

I attribute the shorter (4 day) illness to me having received the flu vaccine, even though it seems to have missed the proper strain.

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The arts are not luxuries but assets that give way more than they cost.
--Ronald Tucker on YouTube

A mind is like a parachute. It doesn't work if it is not open.
--Frank Zappa

Quote
deckeda

Quote
voodoopenguin

Quote
Sam3
I'm not surprised. I got the flu vaccine together with a Covid booster four weeks ago. Last week I was out of commission with the flu for four days.

If you were out of commission for only four days are you sure it was actually flu?

Paul

Now you have me wondering what a “typical” symptomatic period is for influenza. I’d considered 2-4 days to be “a cold” but that a very similar timeframe with stronger symptoms to be “flu.”

It’s possible I’ve never had the flu. I can’t remember ever being sick for a longer time than about a week.

5 to 7 days for most people but can be up to 2 weeks.

A lot of folks say they have flu when they were never tested for influenza. You don't necessarily need one but it can help prevent over-prescribing antibiotics. Makes me wonder if 30 years from now people will say they've got a little COVID without testing.

Oh jeez. Not again. Last time I had full on influenza I probably should have been hospitalized. I was sick for two weeks. Definite pneumonia in both lungs. And that was the one that the vaccination definitely missed. Gonna mask up all year now.

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Lemon Drop

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deckeda

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voodoopenguin

Quote
Sam3
I'm not surprised. I got the flu vaccine together with a Covid booster four weeks ago. Last week I was out of commission with the flu for four days.

If you were out of commission for only four days are you sure it was actually flu?

Paul

Now you have me wondering what a “typical” symptomatic period is for influenza. I’d considered 2-4 days to be “a cold” but that a very similar timeframe with stronger symptoms to be “flu.”

It’s possible I’ve never had the flu. I can’t remember ever being sick for a longer time than about a week.

5 to 7 days for most people but can be up to 2 weeks.

A lot of folks say they have flu when they were never tested for influenza.

Last time I had the flu I had a fever and was on bed-rest four 4 days, other major symptoms for about a week. Felt like cr@p for another week, but went back to work.

I don't think you can really count on those tests. Tested negative for types A and B at an urgent-care place when my fever first spiked. Tested positive two-days later at my doctor's office. The doctor explained that with the quick-tests those doing the tests may not be properly trained to get a good sample and even when the tests work well they're not general enough to catch every strain going around.

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Supposedly when the flu vaccine is made the same way the mRNA vaccines are, then it can be made closer to the flu season.

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Saint Cloud, Minnesota, where the weather is wonderful even when it isn't.

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Speedy
Supposedly when the flu vaccine is made the same way the mRNA vaccines are, then it can be made closer to the flu season.

That's probably a long way off.

We only have the COVID vaccines because of government subsidies.

No government is going to subsidize a mRNA flu vaccine any time soon.

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I wonder if a lot of this is going to be taken care of, by virtue of people taking the same precautions for corona ... it being an enveloped virus, it should be just as susceptible to things like hand-washing, hand sanitizer, etc.

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Freya says, 'Hello from NOLA, baby!' (Laissez bon temps rouler!)

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PeterB
I wonder if a lot of this is going to be taken care of, by virtue of people taking the same precautions for corona ... it being an enveloped virus, it should be just as susceptible to things like hand-washing, hand sanitizer, etc.

Outside of us right here, who is still doing that?

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Sarcany

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PeterB
I wonder if a lot of this is going to be taken care of, by virtue of people taking the same precautions for corona ... it being an enveloped virus, it should be just as susceptible to things like hand-washing, hand sanitizer, etc.

Outside of us right here, who is still doing that?

Well, I would hope at the least that most are still masking, and hand sanitizer is plentiful (at least at the moment).

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Freya says, 'Hello from NOLA, baby!' (Laissez bon temps rouler!)

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PeterB
Well, I would hope at the least that most are still masking, and hand sanitizer is plentiful (at least at the moment).

Hand sanitizer is cheap because there's no demand anymore.

And even the big hand-sanitizer dispenser in public spaces have been empty for weeks if not already removed.

People were told that they don't have to clean their hands. The virus is airborne. Remember?

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Sarcany

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PeterB
Well, I would hope at the least that most are still masking, and hand sanitizer is plentiful (at least at the moment).

Hand sanitizer is cheap because there's no demand anymore.

And even the big hand-sanitizer dispenser in public spaces have been empty for weeks if not already removed.

People were told that they don't have to clean their hands. The virus is airborne. Remember?

Ummm, I don't recall anyone ever saying "don't clean your hands". Fomites transmission, while presumably rare, is still a potential issue, especially in context of Omicron:

[www.cdc.gov]
[wwwnc.cdc.gov]

... unlikely fomite transmission, yes. Impossible, no.

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Freya says, 'Hello from NOLA, baby!' (Laissez bon temps rouler!)

I still use hand sanitizer when I get back to my car after shopping, then a full hand wash at home when I get inside. Mom, grandma, aunt, former MIL, partner's mom, cousin, and partner's daughter in law, all nurses. It is the family culture to wash hands frequently.

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********************************************
“A sword never kills anybody; it is a tool in the killer's hand.” Seneca the Younger

The police have no duty to respond. See Castle Rock v. Gonzales, 545 U.S. 748 (2005) or Warren v. District of Columbia[1] (444 A.2d. 1, D.C. Ct. of Ap. 1981)

Judge Lee wrote that “we cannot jettison our constitutional rights, even if the goal behind a law is laudable." 9th Circuit Court of Appeals

[www.youtube.com]

Quote
Sarcany

Quote
PeterB
I wonder if a lot of this is going to be taken care of, by virtue of people taking the same precautions for corona ... it being an enveloped virus, it should be just as susceptible to things like hand-washing, hand sanitizer, etc.

Outside of us right here, who is still doing that?

Most people in my region of the country (though I live in a bubble). Also, everybody here is masking when they go into an indoor place of business or an outdoor place that is crowded.

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"In science it often happens that scientists say, 'You know that's a really good argument; my position is mistaken,' and then they would actually change their minds and you never hear that old view from them again. They really do it. It doesn't happen as often as it should, because scientists are human and change is sometimes painful. But it happens every day. I cannot recall the last time something like that happened in politics or religion." (1987) -- Carl Sagan



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/26/2021 08:30PM by davester.