From being a college student, as well as living in a sorority house I have seen first-hand the effects of this year’s flu virus. With kids missing class and the long duration of the illness, it is hard to not notice, especially with the high frequencies of constant coughs and sniffling. And apparently, I am not wrong to assume that this year is a particularly bad one for the flu. According to this source, the flu that is the front runner of this year’s season is an odd one. There are two main types of influenza and this seasons virus is made up of influenza B, which is rare or typically does not cause as many cases as the other strain, Influenza A. The source also revealed that the B strain is more common in causing infections in children, which contributes to why we are seeing so many infections and even deaths in children this flu season. When the article was published back at the beginning of January there were already 26 deaths, and sadly, as there is still more time to get through before this flu season is over, I’m sure that number will continue to climb.
As we learned in class when making a vaccine for the flu they normally study the previous year’s virus and the patterns it followed to try and predict what the next year’s flu virus will look like. The vaccines are made up of a 3-in-one or 4-in-one system that incorporates the different strands, in the United States, it is typically the 4-in-one. While the vaccines are not always right, they do provide partial immunity which is a heck of a lot better than nothing. I received my flu shot very early in this flu season and have been lucky enough to not have any signs or cases of the flu so far (knock on wood), regardless of living in a house with 50 other girls. Many of which have come down with the flu, so proof that it can protect you. However, when hearing about how this year’s virus is so odd, I am curious how effective the flu vaccine was.
The CDC reported that the flu shot for this year’s flu virus is 58% effective in protecting you from the Influenza B strain. They also stated that it is typical to see some forms of the strains predicted in the spring, to make the vaccine, will have some sort of mismatch to the actual virus they see come October or the new flu season. Ultimately, as I stated earlier the best thing you can do to avoid getting the flu is getting the vaccine and washing your hands. The influenza virus no matter the strain is an enveloped virus, so just simply washing your hands or using hand sanitizer can also protect you from getting the flu. Another big thing to protect you is to not touch your face, this way the virus is not able to easily enter your respiratory tract which is where its target cells are. With all that said, I am hoping that everyone has flu shots and remembers to wash their hands because there is nothing worse than getting the flu as a college student and not having your mom around to take care of you!!
Grace's Blog about Science 