CDC: This Year's Flu Vaccine Doing Poor Job Of Preventing Influenza

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed Thursday that the flu vaccine is doing a poor job of preventing influenza, with the flu now being widespread and making millions sick.

The Philadelphia area has been hit hard by the flu. Delaware health officials said the flu has killed the first person in the state who didn't have an underlying condition.

Nationally, federal health officials say this year's vaccine has had limited effectiveness.

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Early estimates show this season's flu vaccine has been only 36 percent effective in preventing severe illness that would send a patient to the doctor.

When it comes to the nasty flu strain dominating this season, H3N2, the CDC says the vaccine has been 25 percent effective in patients of all ages, but the numbers are better in young children.

"In children from 6 months to 8 years of age against influenza H3N2, it's 51 percent," said Dr. Anthony Fauci of the National Institutes of Health. "If you look at effectiveness in the same children against both flu A and B, it's as high as 59 percent, which is a very important reason that if you haven't had kids vaccinated yet, there is a significant benefit in that high-risk group."

Overall, the vaccine has been 67 percent effective against the H1N1 flu virus that's also circulating and 42 percent effective against flu B viruses.

"Flu virus has an extraordinary capability of what we call drifting from season to season. It changes and mutates just enough to get it out of the range of protection of the vaccine," said Fauci.

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That's why several groups, including the National Institutes of Health, are working on a universal flu vaccine that would essentially give long-lasting protection against all flu viruses.

"It's stunning the amount of disease and yet we have not been completely adequate in protecting the population with a vaccine," said Fauci.

Researchers say part of the problem is how most vaccine is made that's in chicken eggs, but the flu viruses can mutate in the eggs, and what emerges for use in the vaccine is less effective in people.