Flu viruses?

In recent years there has been increasing concern about the possibility of a flu (influenza) pandemic. The worst pandemic on record, the Spanish flu that began in 1918, killed an estimated 50 million people world-wide. A few years ago there was great concern about Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), and currently there remains concern about the possibility of avian (bird) flu from Southeast Asia becoming pandemic.

Questions:
1) Vaccines typically prevent specific viral or bacterial illness (e.g. mumps; measles;
chickenpox; tetanus; rabies), but many people who get annual flu shots still get the flu 鈥?
why?
2) How and where do new strains of flu arise and why do new flu vaccines have to be
developed every year?
3) How do vaccines work to keep us healthy?
4) With all our medical technology, why is there so much concern about a possible
pandemic?

Woah!! big question.

Ans #1: Vaccines contain weakened or dead forms of the virus. Some people have weak enough immune systems to get the flu from the weakened form.
Ans #2: There are many forms of the flu. Scientists and Doctors study the virus and predict which strain will be most infectious during flu season. Then they make vaccines of that strain. But if you get hit with a different strain you get the flu.
Ans #3: Since the vaccines have weakened forms of the virus when it is injected into your body, it causes your body to make antibodies. So when the real virus comes along it has antibodies to fight it off.
Ans #4: If you think about it just in the last couple of centuries we had smallpox, polio etc. There could be a pandemic if the scientists predicted the strain wrong.

Hope this helps

I work in a hospital (not a nurse or doctor but I review medical records for things). The majority of us received a flu shot for free -- which is smart. BUT it turns out that the specific "strain" of the flu that went around here (Florida) was not covered in the shot.....there are different strains.
I am more concerned about MRSA -- now THAT is a big deal -- everywhere -- it's the biggest thing to fear right now - an infection that antibiotics/penicillan do not kill -- sometimes vancomycin will help but not always.......it's a bad one.