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One preliminary report indicates that such unpredictability may have made this year's flu shots a poorer match with the virus than in previous years -- but there isn't enough data yet to know if that's actually the case, explains Jason Newland, chief of infectious diseases at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Ohio.
俄亥俄州全国儿童医院的传染病科主任杰森·纽兰解释说，一份初步报告显示，这种不可预测性可能使得今年的流感疫苗与病毒的匹配度不如往年，但目前还没有足够的数据来确定实际情况是否如此。
"We do know that even in mismatched years or where the effectiveness isn't as good, we still get some protection against severe disease," he says.
他说：“我们确实知道，即使在疫苗与病毒不匹配的年份，或者疫苗有效性不那么好的年份，我们仍然能获得一些对严重疾病的防护。”
Likely the biggest contributing factor behind this year's abnormally high number of flu cases is that many people aren't getting the vaccine at all.
今年流感病例异常增多的最大可能因素是，很多人根本没有接种疫苗。
"Flu vaccination rates have declined, which is a major cause of the surge," says Elizabeth Mack, a physician and the head of the pediatric critical care unit at the Medical University of South Carolina's Children's Health.
南卡罗来纳医科大学儿童医院的儿科重症监护病房主任、医生伊丽莎白·麦克表示：“流感疫苗接种率下降了，这是病例激增的一个主要原因。”
Data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicates that as of February 1, 146.5 million doses of the vaccine were given in the country, while data from the same week last year shows 156.9 million people received the shot -- a 7 percent decline.
美国疾病控制与预防中心的数据显示，截至2月1日，美国已接种了1.465亿剂流感疫苗，而去年同期的数据显示有1.569亿人接种了流感疫苗，下降了7%。
"Flu vaccination rates are at their lowest level in years, with fewer than half of Americans currently immunized," says Nagata.
长田说：“流感疫苗接种率处于多年来的最低水平，目前只有不到一半的美国人接种了疫苗。”
And despite children under five being especially vulnerable to the worst outcomes of influenza, less than 46 percent of kids have received a flu vaccine this year, "which is lower than last year at this time, when we saw more than 50 percent," says Leana Wen, an emergency physician and public health professor at the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health.
乔治·华盛顿大学米尔肯公共卫生学院的急诊医生兼公共卫生学教授莉安娜·温表示，尽管5岁以下的儿童特别容易受到流感严重后果的影响，但今年只有不到46%的儿童接种了流感疫苗，“这比去年同期要低，去年同期我们看到接种率超过了50%” 。
Regardless of what's behind the current surge, "we know how to protect against influenza and how to treat it," says Newland.
纽兰表示，不管当前病例激增的原因是什么，“我们知道如何预防流感，也知道如何治疗流感”。
One of our most basic preventative tools is good hygiene.
最基本的预防措施之一是保持良好的卫生习惯。
"Everyone should wash their hands well with soap and water -- especially after touching commonly used surfaces," says Wen.
温说：“每个人都应该用肥皂和水好好洗手，尤其是在接触了常用物品表面之后。”
She adds that particularly vulnerable people such as very young children, pregnant women, the elderly, and the immunocompromised should consider additional precautions such as wearing a high-quality face mask in indoor public spaces and avoiding crowded, poorly ventilated areas.
她补充说，特别容易感染的人群，如幼儿、孕妇、老年人和免疫力低下的人，应该考虑采取额外的预防措施，比如在室内公共场所佩戴高质量的口罩，避免前往拥挤、通风不良的场所。
Maintaining a healthy lifestyle by getting enough sleep, eating nutritious foods, and staying active "can also strengthen your immune system and reduce your risk of infection," says Nagata.
长田说，保持健康的生活方式，保证充足的睡眠、食用有营养的食物并坚持锻炼，“也可以增强你的免疫系统，降低感染的风险”。
But the most surefire protection against the worst outcomes of the virus likely comes from getting the flu shot.
但预防感染流感病毒最可靠的方法可能是接种流感疫苗。
"That's why it's recommended that everyone six months of age and older get an annual influenza vaccine," says Mack.
麦克说：“这就是为什么建议所有6个月及以上的人每年都接种流感疫苗。”
Although it takes about seven to 10 days for protective antibodies to develop in the body after receiving the shot, because this flu season could last at least another month, getting vaccinated is still encouraged.
虽然接种疫苗后，身体大约需要7到10天才能产生保护性抗体，但由于这个流感季可能至少还会持续一个月，所以仍建议接种疫苗。
It's important to remember that getting the vaccine won't entirely stop you from getting the flu, but it will reduce its severity if you do get infected, "and can keep you out of the hospital, ICU, and prevent you from dying," says Schaffner. "It turns wild into mild."
重要的是要记住，接种疫苗并不能完全防止你感染流感，但如果你真的感染了，它会减轻症状的严重程度，沙夫纳说：“它可以让你避免住院、进入重症监护病房，还能防止你死亡。它能让重症变成轻症。”
