The vaccine was only about 16 percent effective at reducing a person’s chance of getting a mild or moderate infection, the US-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention agency has said. Experts said a good rate would be at least 50 percent.
This season’s flu vaccine has offered little to no protection against getting a mild or moderate case of influenza, it also said citing a study of more than 3,600 Americans in seven states.
The vaccine was only around 16 percent effective, a rate that it said was “not statistically significant.”
“It’s not ineffective, but it’s clearly suboptimal in its efficacy,” Dr. Jesse L. Goodman, a former chief scientist at the Food and Drug Administration, said last week.
Still, despite the vaccine’s lackluster performance this season, which started in October and lasts through May, the C.D.C. suggested that people get inoculated, saying that it could “prevent serious outcomes.”
