This Year's Flu Vaccine Is An Epic Fail ... And What You Can Do About It

Well, it turns out this year's flu vaccine is an even bigger dud than we thought. Today the CDC announced that its effectiveness is only 23 percent. That's like batting .210 in baseball.

Normally the flu vaccine averages about 60-70 percent in terms of its ability to help you flight off influenza, but this year is a bad combination of a 98 mg weakling taking on a strain of flu that carries quite a punch.

Flu activity is high, and the main strain that's pummeling people is called H3N2. This strain is causing this season to be a record setter in terms of illness, hospitalizations and deaths.

The vaccine also is supposed to provide protection against two or three other strains (depending on which vaccine you got), but those other strains haven't popped up to any great degree on our radar yet.

So why are we stuck with a wimpy vaccine in the first place?

It all goes back to last year (February 2014), when flu experts met here in the U.S. took a look at what was beginning to show up on the other side of the world -- and which then would most like make its way to North America by the Fall of 2014.

The experts guessed right: H3N2 would be a bad player this year. But the virus outsmarted them and began to mutate (also known as drift). This meant that the vaccine would work against the original H3N2, but not the newer, mutated version. And this new version rampaging its way across America is a powerful one.

You might ask -- why not just hurry up and make a new vaccine? Good idea but that's a no-go. It takes months to grow, manufacture, and distribute vaccines. So we are stuck.

But there are things that you can do.

First, get your flu vaccine anyway if you haven't already. Even though 23% sounds like a waste of time, it's not. If you're lucky, you'll be in that 23% that is protected. And if you're not, you'll still get some protection -- an illness not as severe and somewhat shorter than if you hadn't been vaccinated.

Second, you'll also get protection from the other strains if they rear their infectious heads in the weeks and months to come.

Third, if you do get the flu -- immunized or not -- contact your doctor immediately.

THIS IS IMPORTANT STUFF! You can be put on anti-influenza mediations such as Tamiflu or Relenza, which will lessen how sick you get and shorten the time you are down for the count. It may save you from a severe illness, hospitalization, or even death.

One of the big things the CDC is telling us docs is to is prescribe these meds early and often. They work best when started within 48 of onset of illness -- so don't delay.

Which brings us back to us doctors. It turns out that only one in five of us are following this advice! At a time when a prescription is actually a good idea, we are not giving them out. The CDC says don't wait for a flu test or anything else -- get on these meds stat.

So be pushy! You may not even need an office visit. A sudden onset of fever, chills, aches, and extreme fatigue are often enough to make a flu diagnosis by phone. The reason we may prescribe by phone is that you are usually so sick, you'd need to crawl in the office. And, if you do have true influenza, we may not want you in our office waiting rooms.

This advice is especially important for older people, or people with chronic illnesses such as heart disease, diabetes, asthma, etc. The true flu is especially devastating in these groups.

So all in all: a swing and miss when it comes to an MVP flu shot. You might think that the CDC blew it. But remember this, mutating strains have happened before ... and the only thing predictable about a flu season is that it is unpredictable.

Dr. Dave Hnida is CBS4's Medical Editor. He blogs about the latest studies and trends in the health world. Read his latest blog entries, check out his bio or follow him on Twitter @drdavehnida.