CCTV news: The weather is getting colder, which is the season for high influenza incidence. What’s new with this year’s circulating flu strains? Does the flu vaccine still work? Let’s find out together.
Since July this year, H3N2 subtypes of Type A and Victoria Type B have been co-circulating in the country. The H3N2 subtype of Type A accounts for more than the Victoria type of Type B. It is necessary to take precautions in advance. According to experts, the most noteworthy feature of this year's influenza epidemic season is that multiple strains are active together and the epidemic rhythm is moving forward. Coupled with the recent widespread cooling across the country and the increase in indoor gatherings of people, the risk of cluster epidemics in closed places such as campuses and office buildings has increased.
Experts say that this year's epidemic strains are indeed different from those in previous years. Now there are A and B strains, and even A H3N2 and A H1N1 are included in A flu. Usually one strain may have a clear advantage, while the other two strains account for a small proportion. However, this year we have seen all three strains, but H3N2 has a slight advantage. However, neighboring countries are all infected with H1N1, which is different from our country, and H1N1 is on the rise, so it is possible that the (dominant) strain will change later.
There are traces of serious illness. Be wary of early warning signs for different groups of people.
Children, people over 65 years old, pregnant women, patients with chronic diseases and people with low immunity are at high risk of severe influenza. What are the signs that your condition is getting worse and you need to seek medical attention immediately? Continue to find out.
Experts say that when patients are prone to severe illness, they are generally more likely to have persistent high fever, or after taking antipyretic drugs, the fever will go down to a certain extent and then rise again quickly, and the fever will not be relieved for more than five days after the onset of the disease. If combined with pneumonia, severe coughing, chest tightness, chest pain, shortness of breath, wheezing, and labored breathing may occur. If a child develops encephalitis, he or she will be apathetic, even drowsy, difficult to wake up, or particularly irritable and vomit frequently, which may indicate damage to the nervous system. There are also young people with myocarditis, especially after exertion or staying up late, who may experience chest tightness, chest pain, shortness of breath, or even dizziness and syncope after activities. The elderly are more likely to suffer from loss of appetite, apathy, and a significant reduction in activity. The elderly do not have a high fever, but they should be vigilant when their spirits become very low.
Is it too late to get the flu shot? How to choose a vaccine?
The peak influenza season in my country is generally from November to March of the following year. In early September, influenza vaccination was launched in various places. Today is the last day of October. Is it too late for those who haven’t been vaccinated yet? In addition, there are several flu vaccines on the market this year. Which one is better?
Experts say the best time to get a flu shot is September or October, before the flu season begins. Because it takes 2-4 weeks after vaccination to produce a relatively good protective effect, but if you miss this time, you can get vaccinated during the entire flu season. It is better to fight early than to fight late, and to fight late is better than not fight at all.
According to the "Technical Guidelines for Influenza Vaccination in China (2026-2027)" issued by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the three vaccine components recommended this year have been updated, including trivalent split vaccine, trivalent subunit vaccine and trivalent live attenuated vaccine. Among them, trivalent split vaccine and subunit vaccine can be used for people aged 6 months and above, including 0.25 ml and 0.5 ml specifications. The trivalent live attenuated vaccine is suitable for people aged 3 to 17 years old, and each dose is 0.2 ml. Which vaccine is better to choose?
Feng Luzhao, deputy dean of the School of Group Medicine and Public Health at Peking Union Medical College, introduced that subunit and lysis are two inactivation processes. To put it simply, a split vaccine breaks the entire virus into pieces through technology. The second is to purify the subunit of the protein, relatively speaking, purify the effective part and prepare it into a vaccine. Judging from a large amount of clinical trial evidence and post-marketing applications, subunit vaccines, split vaccines and live attenuated vaccines are very safe and effective. The (attenuated) nasal spray vaccine uses an attenuated process, which reduces the toxicity and pathogenicity of the influenza virus so that it can have a protective effect without causing disease. Therefore, it is recommended for people aged 3-17 years old, and is not recommended for the elderly and people with low immunity.
