The drumbeat from public health officials to “get your flu shot” is approaching fever pitch. That’s because influenza season is right around the corner. With holiday travel only a few weeks away, it is likely that flu viruses will spread quickly.
The trouble is that we do not yet know how well this year’s influenza vaccine will work to ward off the viruses that will be circulating. The results from last year’s flu prevention program turned out to be pretty disappointing.
How Well Did the Flu Shot Work Last Year?
“When VE [vaccine effectiveness] against all influenza viruses was combined, the overall VE estimate was 19%. In practical terms, this means the flu vaccine reduced a person’s risk of having to seek medical care at a doctor’s office for flu illness by 19%.”
Another way of describing this result is that over 80 percent of those who received a flu shot did not get protection against last year’s influenza outbreaks.
Why Do We Accept Such Dismal Results?
Last year the flu shot was not a good match for the viruses that were circulating. That’s because of mutations. The vaccine experts have to guess what viruses will be circulating months in advance and sometimes they get it wrong.
Even when they get it right, however, the results can be disappointing. During the 2013 flu season we were informed that the vaccine makers got it right. The match was 92% between the vaccine and the circulating viruses. That is about as good as it ever gets. Theoretically, almost everyone should have been protected that season from catching influenza.
When we queried visitors to this website we were informed that the shot was not working well at all. The CDC eventually fessed up and admitted that the most vulnerable part of the population-older sicker people-were not well protected. The vaccine was only about 27% effective for senior citizens. Even worse, the bad flu bug was H3N2 influenza A. Despite being a good match the vaccine was only about 9% effective in protecting older people against that nasty virus.
Imagine if your car only started one out of five times. You would be justifiably outraged. If your furnace only warmed your house one out of five days, you would not be a happy camper. And yet we put up with dismal results from flu vaccines year after year.
Hope Springs Eternal at the CDC
Public health officials are hopeful that this year’s vaccine will perform better than last year’s. We won’t know if the immunization makers guessed correctly until the end of the flu season.
Statins Screw Up Flu Shots:
There is a new problem, though. If you are taking a statin-type cholesterol-lowering drug like atorvastatin, pravastatin or simvastatin, you may not be well protected.
Even if the flu shot is better this year, there’s a wrinkle in vaccine effectiveness. Two studies recently published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases (online, Oct. 28, 2015) suggest that people taking statins might not get as much protection from the vaccine as people not on these cholesterol-lowering drugs.
In one analysis (online, Oct. 28, 2015), scientists looked at a large study of immunization effectiveness in older adults. More than 5,000 participants were tested to see how well they reacted to two different versions of the flu shot. There was also information on whether they were taking medications like simvastatin or atorvastatin. This allowed a retrospective evaluation that showed people taking statins had weaker immune responses.
Who Takes Statins and Suffers from Flu? Older People!
This is especially concerning because older people are more vulnerable to complications of influenza. They are more likely to end up in the hospital or develop pneumonia that can kill them. At the same time, they are also the group that is most likely to be taking statin drugs to help protect them against heart disease.
The other study in the Journal of Infectious Diseases (online, Oct. 28, 2015), also supports the likelihood of an interaction between influenza vaccine and statin-type medicines. The researchers analyzed health care records from more than 130,000 people over nine flu seasons. They found that vaccine effectiveness was significantly lower among people taking statins.
The Bottom Line:
Unfortunately, these preliminary data leave physicians and patients in a quandary. Experts are not currently recommending that people stop taking their statins to improve the effectiveness of the flu shot. Ideally, scientists would find ways to improve how well the flu vaccine works rather than weaken it. We won’t know for several months whether this year’s flu shot will provide good protection against circulating viruses. Once again we will have to take on faith the CDC’s reassurance that we should get a flu shot.
The Final Word:
Arm and Shoulder Pain:
We continue to hear from a surprisingly large number of people who have experienced long-lasting arm and shoulder pain after getting a flu shot.
Here are just a few examples:
Laura in Wisconsin:
“I had my flu shot Oct 2, 2015 and am still experiencing pain at the injection site. Two days after the injection I had terrible body aches and felt just miserable. I ended up with a bad respiratory illness that lasted 20 days and still is lingering. Was told it was ‘just a coincidence’, but this has happened several times now.”
Wendy in Florida:
“I too have had problems with my left arm since my flu shot two weeks ago. The arm seems hard to lift at times. I have been concerned about it until I read this article. Now I know that others are having the same problem. When I had the shot, it was a bit painful, which never happened before. These shots were always easy with no side effects. This year has been different. What is going on?”
Barb’s story makes us wince:
“I have been getting flu shots since 2009 when my husband was hospitalized with H1N1 influenza and have never had an issue.
“I received my flu shot this year in October 2015; the next day I was trying to get an appointment for physical therapy. At that time I hadn’t made a connection between the flu shot and the pain.
“Since then I have gone to the ER, been prescribed steroids and gone to Physical Therapy. I take Aleve every 4 hours although I don’t know why; it hasn’t relieved the pain. Nothing has worked.
“The pain is tormenting, I can’t sleep through the night, every movement wakes me up in agonizing pain. I can’t function because pain with movement prevents me from doing many of the things I normally do daily without incident, e.g., reach with my left arm, turn my wrist, lift things, sweep the floor.
“At work I am very limited; answering the phone can be traumatic. I find it eye opening that as a secretary many of my workday activities have to do with reaching and motion. The thing that is most annoying is this pain is very tricky. The heaviest pain and audible popping occurs when I move in just the ‘right’ direction. I think I have the combination to avoiding the pain all worked out…I begin a project and seconds in I forget not to bring my arm up in a certain way or cross my body with my arm and become embarrassed by the sound I make while whimpering in excruciating pain and holding my shoulder.
“If anyone has found any relief from this torment, please make that information public. I would love to return to my life pre-flu shot.”
Not everyone has experienced complications from this year’s flu shot, but it seems as if there have been more reports of shoulder pain than in years past. Let us know your experience in the comment section below. And please keep track of your immunity this flu season so you can let us know how well the flu shot is working this year.
