Flu Shot Fail: Why Doesn't the Vaccine Always Work? - NBC News.com
Flu Shot Fail: Why Doesn't the Vaccine Always Work? - NBC News.com
Vaccines have wiped out smallpox and
they’ve nearly eradicated polio. Vaccination can control measles and
mumps, and they protect travelers against yellow fever and cholera.
Most
are so good that a few doses in childhood cover people for decades,
even life. But there’s one vaccine that people have to get every single
year, and even then it’s not guaranteed to fully prevent infection. It’s
the flu shot, and scientists are struggling to find a way to make a
better one.
Debbie Fauver believes
in flu vaccines — so much so that she brings home a batch of syringes to
immunize her family every year. She’s a nurse, working at a hospital in
Greenville, Ky., and vaccinated her grown children and husband last
November. She was surprised when her 25-year-old daughter Molly got the
flu anyway.
