Below average this year? Yes. But should you still get vaccinated? You bet!
In conclusion, it is important to remember that although this year’s vaccine effectiveness is below average, it still represents a significant reduction in the risk of obtaining and spreading infection. Vulnerable populations are at risk of hospitalization and even death without vaccination programs. If more of the general population is vaccinated, the greater the protection to those in vulnerable populations \cite{vaccinea,vaccine,recombinant}. It is also import to note that these data sets were compiled from an interim report, and end of season estimates will be available later in the year \cite{effectiveness,Flannery2018}.
Could influenza be eradicated?
There is one infectious disease which has been eradicated on a global scale: smallpox. Let’s take a look at why we were able to eradicate smallpox and compare this to influenza.
- The smallpox vaccine provides lifelong immunity as the smallpox virus does not mutate or change over time.
- The smallpox disease is only contagious when the patient is showing symptoms, rather than just when infected.
- Smallpox is only spread from person to person (i..e. no animal reservoirs) \cite{2002}.
How does influenza compare to the characteristics of smallpox?
- The influenza vaccine only lasts one year because immunity to the vaccine decreases over time and the influenza virus mutates constantly.
- Patients can be contagious before showing symptoms.
- Flu is only spread person to person (no animal reservoirs), same as smallpox.
Given these characteristics, it is unlikely influenza will be eradicated in the near future. However, there are promising areas of research committed to designing more effective vaccines and hopefully this will decrease hospitalisations, deaths, and time away from work due to influenza.
Contributions
- Rachel Blair wrote the article and made the illustrations. Rachel has an undergraduate degree in molecular biology and a master's degree in public health epidemiology. She has worked in infection control and as a medical writer and now spends her time illustrating relevant scientific concepts. (Instagram @rachelblairink; webpage: https://rachelblairink.myportfolio.com)
- Lauren Nelson edited the article. Lauren is a Ph.D. student at Newcastle University (UK), researching computational drug design alongside the Northern Institute for Cancer Research. Lauren also writes a scientific blog aiming to stop science from seeming so boring. (Twitter @ashortscientist; Instagram @ashortscientist; Blog: ashortscientist.wordpress.com).
- Ernesto Llamas edited the article. He obtained his Ph.D. in Biotechnology from Universitat de Barcelona doing his research at the Centre for Research in Agricultural Genomics. Creator, editor and illustrator of Sketching Science. (Instagram @eellamas).