Skip to main content
Friday, November 13, 2026Nov 13
Subscribe
All Sections
Search
More

Flu vaccine not working well; only 23 percent effective

This 2011 image provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows an H3N2 influenza virus — the same type of flu that's responsible for most flu illnesses this winter.
This 2011 image provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows an H3N2 influenza virus — the same type of flu that's responsible for most flu illnesses this winter.

By Associated Press 4 min read

Online

* CDC report: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr

NEW YORK — As predicted, this year’s flu vaccine is doing a pretty crummy job. It’s only 23 percent effective, primarily because it doesn’t include the bug that is making most people sick, according to a government study released Thursday.

That’s one of the worst performances in the last decade, since U.S. health officials started routinely tracking how well vaccines work. In the best flu seasons, the vaccines were 50 to 60 percent effective.

“This is an uncommon year,” said Dr. Alicia Fry, a flu vaccine expert at the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, who was involved in the study.

The findings are not surprising. In early December, CDC officials warned the vaccine probably wouldn’t work very well because it isn’t well matched to a strain that’s been spreading widely.