I got a flu jab this year – so why did the flu still knock me out?
Getting a flu jab is not a silver bullet for avoiding the dreaded influenza – something Anna Murray found out the hard way a few weeks ago. So, why doesn’t the vaccine always work? She spoke to an immunisation expert to find out.
September came, and so did the flu.
I had smugly and successfully dodged the usual ills and chills all winter. But as soon as spring arrived on my doorstep, so too did influenza.
I felt many things over the 10 days my body fought the lurgy. I felt weak. I felt exhausted. I felt hot and cold with raging fevers. I felt random pains in my joints.
And I felt quite annoyed that I’d had my flu shot this year and thought I could skip all this.
When a flu jab fails
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Now, with just the remnants of a cough left to remind me of that horror couple of weeks, I feel a bit stupid for thinking my flu jab would act like bulletproof armour.
Because as Principal Medical Advisor at the Immunisation Advisory Centre Dr Nikki Turner told me this week, no vaccine is going to protect 100% of people 100% of the time.
There are several reasons why a person who has had a jab still winds up getting the flu.
Sometimes this comes down to the educated guess work that goes into the composition of the flu shot each year.
The flu vaccine has components of four different types of influenza in it – two types of Influenza A and two types of Influenza B.
“Each year, there’s a decision made for the southern hemisphere and then for the northern hemisphere at predicting what the most likely circulating strains will be,” Turner said.
“So, every year they rejig the flu vaccine based on what they think will be the most likely circulating strains.”
Sometimes, the vaccine is not matched to the strain that winds up circulating.
“That’s not happened this year,” Turner said.
But even with a flu vaccine in the community that matches the circulating strain, New Zealand has had a big flu season.
ESR surveillance shows hospitalisations of people with severe acute respiratory illness (SARI) were higher over July and August this year than previous years.
And it’s not just the elderly with weaker immune systems having to go to hospital. Friends of friends my own age [redacted] have had to be hospitalised with their flu symptoms this season.
Different outcomes for different people
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Sometimes, people’s immune systems respond well to the flu vaccine, and sometimes, for a variety of reasons, they may not, Turner said.
For example, very elderly people often find their immune system doesn’t make as many antibodies ready to respond to the flu virus.
Other times, Turner said, the flu jab has done its job simply by keeping people from becoming severely ill. Contrary to my opinion that my flu jab had done absolutely nothing for me this year, it probably did create enough antibodies to stop me from winding up in hospital.
Despite briefly flirting with going to the after-hours clinic when my fever hovered around 40 degrees and wouldn’t come down, I ultimately didn’t need to burden an already stretched healthcare system with a hospital visit – and I can probably thank my flu jab for that, Turner said.
“Sometimes, you’ve got antibodies, and it stopped you getting severely sick - but you still get sick,” she said.
“Most of the time, for most of us, [the jab] does reduce the severity [of the illness], but for some people, for a whole lot of reasons, it just doesn’t work.
“We do know flu vaccines are never 100% effective all of the time – they vary from person to person. In younger, healthier people they should be more effective, but they’re still maybe 60 to 70% effective, so you’re talking about 30 to 40% of people who had the vaccine that it may not be effective in.”
Hospital admissions in Auckland this winter have been higher than last year as warnings go unheeded.
Turner said there are many factors that can determine how well a flu vaccine works for someone.
“We know stress affects it, we know poor sleep affects it, we know people’s housing conditions affect it,” she said.
The amount of virus you’re exposed to can also be a factor, which could be why my partner managed to dodge the flu this time while I suffered for days on end, Turner said.
“You might have got a greater inoculum [amount of viral particles that begin infection] than your husband,” she said.
“If you got a whole lot of virus at once, your antibodies are working really hard to knock it out, but there’s still too much virus – whereas maybe your husband got fewer virus particles at the same time.”
So, what to do to protect from flu?
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The moral of the story here is that people can’t rely on the vaccine alone to stop getting sick with the flu, Turner said.
“Vaccines are just part of the protection against severe flu,” she said.
“They are definitely not perfect. We’d love better vaccines, but for the time being, they’re still better than not having them.
“We still need to protect ourselves in many other ways.”
Turner said this might mean trying to reduce exposure to the flu through winter and spring, including staying home if you become unwell.
Turner said she was also sad to see the end of the mandatory use of masks in certain circumstances.
“Personally, I'd be saying to all of us, if you're on the train or in a crowded place at the start of the flu season, wear masks, keep away from crowded places,” she said.
“And if you are exposing yourself to people who have problems with their immune system or very elderly people, think about protecting them.
“We also need the social protections around us, all the things we learned through Covid and we're now forgetting rapidly. Vaccines are only part of a bigger strategy.”
Improving the flu vaccine
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Meanwhile, scientists are still trying to make better vaccines, Turner said.
“For years, they’ve been trying to make one vaccine to cover all flu strains. They haven’t cracked that one, but that would be great; that’s the holy grail of flu vaccines,” she said.
Adjuvanted vaccines have also become available for older people, whose immune systems don’t respond as well to the regular flu jab. The adjuvant helps drive a stronger immune response.
“There’s a whole lot of other fancy new technology out there to try and improve flu vaccines,” Turner said.
“Because flu vaccines are really, really old. They've been around for years and years and they work, but they're not brilliant, they don't work for everybody. We do need better vaccines.”
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Poll: 🤖 What skills do you think give a CV the ultimate edge in a robot-filled workplace?
The Reserve Bank has shared some pretty blunt advice: there’s no such thing as a “safe” job anymore 🛟😑
Robots are stepping into repetitive roles in factories, plants and warehouses. AI is taking care of the admin tasks that once filled many mid-level office jobs.
We want to know: As the world evolves, what skills do you think give a CV the ultimate edge in a robot-filled workplace?
Want to read more? The Press has you covered!
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52.3% Human-centred experience and communication
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15.2% Critical thinking
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29.7% Resilience and adaptability
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2.8% Other - I will share below!
The Gospel’s Relevance Today**
The Gospel, meaning ‘good news’, is the cornerstone of the message contained in the Bible’s first four books—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. While these records were written approximately 2,000 years ago, a natural question arises: why is this Gospel still relevant and vital for us today? This analysis seeks to explore what the Bible itself defines as the Gospel and to understand its enduring significance.
**Defining the Gospel: Core Biblical References**
The Gospel is not a vague concept; Scripture provides clear descriptions of its content and focus.
* **The Gospel of the Kingdom:** In Matthew 4:23, as Jesus begins his ministry, he is described as “preaching the gospel of the kingdom.” This immediately establishes that the good news is centrally about a kingdom—the Kingdom of God. His accompanying miracles served to validate the authority of this message.
* **The Gospel of Jesus Christ:** Mark 1:1 opens with, “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” Here, “Christ” is a title meaning ‘anointed one’. Thus, the good news is intrinsically about Jesus: his identity as the Anointed One and his unique status as the Son of God.
* **The Gospel of God’s Grace:** In Acts 20:24, the Apostle Paul speaks of his mission to “testify the gospel of the grace of God.” Grace signifies an undeserved gift. This reveals that the Gospel involves a gift from God, offered not because it is merited, but out of His benevolence.
* **The Gospel of Salvation and Peace:** Romans 1:16 declares the Gospel is “the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes,” breaking down barriers between Jew and Gentile (Greek). Furthermore, Romans 10:15 calls it the “gospel of peace,” pointing to a future state of peace brought about by this message.
* **The Gospel Summarised:** 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 provides a foundational summary. Paul reminds believers of the gospel he preached, “by which also you are saved.” He then states its core historical facts: “that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures.” The Gospel is therefore rooted in the sacrificial death and resurrection of Jesus.
In synthesis, the Gospel is the good news of **salvation and future peace in the Kingdom of God**, made possible by **the grace of God** and **the obedient sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ**, and offered to all who believe.
**Old Testament Foundations: The Gospel Preached to Abraham**
A crucial question is whether the Gospel is confined to the New Testament. Scripture shows its foundations were laid much earlier. Galatians 3:8 states explicitly that “the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, ‘In you all the nations shall be blessed.’”
This reference points back to Genesis 12:1-3, where God made profound promises to Abraham: to make him a great nation, to bless those who blessed him, and that “in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” These promises—later reaffirmed to Isaac and Jacob—form the bedrock of the Gospel hope. The good news of salvation through Christ is the fulfillment of how **all nations** would be blessed through Abraham’s “seed.”
**The Gospel’s Personal Relevance: Good News for You Today**
How does this ancient message become “good news for you” today? The application is clearly outlined in Galatians 3.
* **Access through Faith in Christ:** Galatians 3:26 declares, “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.” The promise made to Abraham is now extended to anyone with faith in Jesus.
* **The Role of Baptism:** Verse 27 explains, “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” Baptism is the God-appointed act of faith that identifies a believer with Christ’s death and resurrection.
* **Unity and Inheritance:** Verses 28-29 reveal the glorious outcome: “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” Through the Gospel, all barriers are removed; believers become spiritual descendants of Abraham and heirs to the promises of the Kingdom.
This Gospel was once a mystery hidden in God’s purpose (Ephesians 3:3-9). Now, it has been revealed: the unsearchable riches of Christ, offering salvation to all who heed the call, believe the message, and are baptised into him.
**Conclusion: An Enduring and Open Invitation**
The Gospel is far more than a historical account; it is the living, powerful good news of God’s plan for salvation. It is rooted in promises to Abraham, accomplished through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and open to all people without distinction. It offers a tangible hope—the hope of resurrection, peace, and an inheritance in the coming Kingdom of God. This is why the Gospel remains profoundly relevant. It is an invitation to listen, believe, and stand firm in this hope, linking our lives today to the eternal purpose of God.
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