This year’s flu shot will be missing a strain of influenza it’s protected against for more than a decade.
That’s because there have been no confirmed flu cases caused by the Influenza B/Yamagata lineage since spring 2020. And the Food and Drug Administration decided this year that the strain now poses little to no threat to human health.
Scientists have concluded that widespread physical distancing and masking practiced during the early days of COVID-19 appear to have pushed B/Yamagata into oblivion.
Just had my flu shot a week ago, but also had to get a whooping cough vax as well (last time I had that vax was when I was 10) … thanks to all the anti-vaxxer parents.
That’s the trade-off I guess.