The annual flu season is headed our way. So is the annual flu vaccine.

But will this year's shot be more effective than last year's version, when an unexpectedly strong strain of flu walloped thousands of Californians?

"We think it's better this year but won't know for certain until the flu season begins," said Dr. Erica Pan, Alameda County deputy health officer.

Flu season typically runs from October through May, but in the Bay Area, peak season hits in January and February.

Experts say the strength of the vaccine all comes down to how well manufacturers -- which work months in advance to produce shots -- predict the strains of flu that will hit us.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Tom Frieden receives a flu shot from nurse B.K. Morris during an event about flu vaccinations, Thursday, Sept. 17, 2015, at the National Press Club in Washington. (Jacquelyn Martin / AP)

Three kinds of viruses commonly circulate among people today, according to the Centers for Disease Control: two types of influenza A, H1N1 and H3N2, and influenza B viruses. The CDC said all of the 2015-16 vaccines will protect against those three viruses, and so far, health officials say, they appear to be on target.

Dr. Scott Morrow, San Mateo County's health officer said flu vaccine predictions start early every year based on what kind of flu strains are hitting people in the Southern Hemisphere during their flu season, which is the opposite of ours.

Manufacturers try to determine if the same flu strains will make their way to us in the Northern Hemisphere. Last year, Morrow said, "their guess was not as great as it could have been.''

More at source: Mercury News

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