Flu jabs fall down in fight against winter epidemic

Flu jabs this winter appear to be a lot less effective than in the past for Czechs. The flu virus this year appears to have mutated into a version for which preventive flu jabs appear to be effective in less than half of cases, according to one of the country’s main experts and advisors for one of the biggest Czech network of immunization centres. The new flu variety results in shorter but more extreme infection. In the first week of 2015, the number of flu cases rose by almost 95 percent and those with acute respiratory illnesses by 23 percent, according to the National Referential Laboratory.

Author: Chris Johnstone