Should you get a flu #vaccination? Yes, but remember #flu vaccines aren’t perfect.
· The overall estimated effectiveness of 2018-19 seasonal influenza #vaccine was 47%. This estimate was based on data from more than three thousand children and adults with acute respiratory illness during November 23, 2018–February 2, 2019, [Morbidity & Mortality Weekly Report/ February 15, 2019 / 68(6);135–139].
· Flu vaccines for 2019-20 have been updated to better match flu virus expected to be circulating in the U.S.
· The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommends “high dose” shots for those older than sixty-five. A large clinical trial indicated that a “high-dose “vaccine was 24.2% more effective in preventing flu in adults 65 years of age than a standard-dose vaccine (New England Journal of Medicine 2014; 371:635-645). Other trials show the “high dose” vaccine reduced hospitalizations form flu among those older than sixty-five.
Do flu vaccine recommendations sound like mumbo-jumbo to you? They sounded even more confusing to the residents of a small community in The Flu Is Coming. In this #thriller, a new type of flu kills nearly half of the residents in an upscale, gated community in less than a week. A quarantine makes those who survive virtual prisoners in their homes. The Centers for Disease Control (#CDC) recruits epidemiologist Sara Almquist to find ways to limit the spread of the epidemic. As she pries into the residents’ lives, she finds promising scientific clues but unfortunately learns too much about several of them and violence ensues.
This novel is an exciting read. The Flu Is Coming a finalist for a New Mexico/Arizona Book Award. Reading this novel is also a way to learn a bit about the development of flu vaccines. Then you’ll understand better the importance and limitations of vaccines. You could say this novel is a medical mystery within a thriller.
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