Eric Feigl-Ding @DrEricDing
🧪FLU VACCINE EFFECTIVENESS—Everyone is asking if flu vaccine works this year or not… short answer is YES. Long answer—UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) report that the 2025/26 formulated vaccine is currently ~75% effective at preventing Emergency Room visits and 73% hospital admission in children aged 2 to 17 years, while 30 to 40% effective in adults for ER and hospital admissions. Not perfect but still decent for adults, and great for kids. But why is there a vaccine-flu partial mismatch? New H3N2 VARIANT of Subclade K. So… at the end of the southern hemisphere (SH) 2025 influenza season and the start of the northern hemisphere (NH) 2025/26 season (ie too late to remake this year’s vaccine formula), a rapid increase in influenza A(H3N2) subclade K (formerly J.2.4.1) incidence was observed, with subclade K projected to dominate among H3N2 viruses during the 2025/26 season [1-3]. This marks a notable A(H3N2) virus evolution after the current seasonal 2025-26 vaccine strains were selected (based on the J.2 subclade). ➡️Do not let anti vaxxers try to tell you vaccines don’t work at all. They do by LOWERING YOUR RISK, even with mismatch it still lowers your risk by a lot, especially for kids! Get your flu shot Tell your family and friends. 🙏