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The flu vaccine has several limitations, including its variable effectiveness due to the rapid mutation of the virus, which can lead to mismatches between the vaccine strains and circulating strains. Additionally, the vaccine typically provides only seasonal protection, requiring annual administration. Some individuals may also have allergic reactions or other contraindications that prevent them from receiving the vaccine. Lastly, it does not guarantee complete immunity, meaning vaccinated individuals can still contract and spread the virus.
What else can I help you with?
Can viruses be controlled by antibiotics or a vaccine?
Typically only the Flu Virus
Is the injected vaccine for swine flu live?
No, in the US the injection forms of the vaccines are made from inactivated "dead" virus. The nasal spray vaccine contains weakened virus that can not make you get the flu but is called a Live Attenuated Influenza Vaccine (LAIV). There is a new form of injected vaccine for the flu in the 2011-2012 flu season in the US that is intradermal instead of the intramuscular route, it also contains inactivated virus particles. See the related question below.
What is the importance of getting the flu vaccine?
Getting the flu vaccine is important because it helps protect you from getting sick with the flu virus. It can also reduce the severity of symptoms if you do get sick, and help prevent the spread of the flu to others.
Is the Swine Flu vaccine effective against the regular flu?
Each flu vaccine is targeted to specific varieties of the flu virus. Unless another type of flu is very similar to the targeted virus, it will not be prevented with that vaccine. Having said that, since the 2010-2011 flu season through to the current 2011-2012 season, the "regular" seasonal flu vaccine, which always contains three types of flu vaccine (trivalent), has included the swine flu along with the other two varieties to which the vaccine was targeted. So in that sense, at least currently, the swine flu vaccination is effective against the regular flu since vaccines for each type are put together in one vaccination.
Can the H1N1 vacination give you the flu?
No. The vaccine is only a part of the virus that your body will respond to.
Is swine flu virus a latent or a active virus?
If the question is whether the virus in the vaccine is inactivated "dead" or is attenuated "weakened", then the H1N1/09 pandemic swine flu vaccine comes in both types. The vaccine for the injection contains only inactivated virus particles. The vaccine for nasal spray contains viruses that have been altered to be too weak to make an otherwise healthy person ill, but will still cause a good immune response for immunity. If by "active" you mean is there vaccine currently available on the market, then in the US now there is seasonal flu vaccine available and it contains the vaccine for three different types of flu. One of those is H1N1/09 swine flu. You can get the vaccination in the usual places for annual flu shots. See related questions below for more...
Why is there no effective vaccine against the flu?
Vaccines take months to make, so people have to guess which strains of flu are going to be active long in advance.
What host is used to make the flu vaccine?
The flu vaccine is typically made using chicken eggs, which serve as a host for the influenza virus. The virus is injected into fertilized chicken eggs, where it replicates. After a period of incubation, the virus is harvested, inactivated (or attenuated, in the case of live attenuated vaccines), and then processed to create the vaccine. Some newer vaccine production methods also use cell cultures or recombinant technology to produce the vaccine.
Why Every year a new influenza vaccine is developed What is the most likely reason that doctors do not use the same vaccine each year?
Typically the flu vaccine is trying to predict the possible states of the flu coming for that season. The flu virus mutates so rapidly that they are always trying to predict what's coming next. That's why you can also still get the flu even if you get a flu shot. STUDY ISLAND ANSWER:The virus which causes influenza adapts each year to the last vaccine in order to survive and reproduce.
Are you fully vaccinated after having one Swine Flu vaccination last year or do you need it annually?
One H1N1/09 "Swine Flu" vaccination was determined to be enough in the 2009 clinical trials of the brand new vaccine for the brand new virus. If you had the vaccination it will provide immunity for life to that particular virus. If the virus mutates into a strain that is much different from the one in the prior vaccine, then there may be a need for a new vaccine for the newly formed virus. So far, that has not happened. You need a seasonal flu shot annually because of the problem with the easy mutations of flu viruses. In the 2010-2011 flu season, the vaccine for the swine flu is included with the other vaccines in the seasonal flu vaccinations, so if you did not get the separate shot last year, this year you will get lifetime immunity from that exact type of flu in the "regular" flu vaccination. (It won't hurt and might help to get that vaccine again).
How many different virus strains does the 2013-2014 seasonal live attenuated influenza vaccine have?
Typically the flu vaccine is trivalent, with three strains.
Can you get Swine Flu if you have been vaccinated?
The level of immunity conferred from a vaccine depends on how well your immune system functions and how closely the vaccine matches the virus you encounter. If you have a compromised immune system, or the virus has mutated significantly since the vaccine was developed, you may also get the flu despite a vaccination.Additionally, it will take 10-14 days for the vaccine to be effective, and during that time, you can still get swine flu.See the related question below for more information on what might allow you to have illness from the flu after a flu shot.
