Over one million Albertans have already gotten their flu shot, but a report from the U.S. Center for Disease Control says the vaccine may not be as effective this year as experts first believed.
Every year, the CDC predicts what kind of strains of flu will be most common and develops their vaccine accordingly.
However, in 2014, the shot is an exact match for two strains of flu, but not the H3N2 strain.
That is the most common strain to infect people this season.
Experts say that the strain is also especially bad and can cause serious illness in children and seniors.
“Based on our historic experience with H3N2, this is the strain that affects the seniors and the very young and spares the people in between,” says infectious disease specialist Dr. Neil Rau.
The virus was included in this year’s vaccine, but it mutated.
Health specialist aren’t sure if the new strain is the one infecting Canadians right now.
