Immunity to seasonal flu?

[13Sandals]

Does anyone know if a certain percentage of the population is assumed to have pre-existing immunity to seasonal flu strains? I'm wondering because I keep reading that swine flu is so terrible because no one (at least the young) have no immunity. And when no one has immunity, it can cause a 'pandemic'. But aren't we told every year that no one has immunity to the seasonal flu strains, that they mutate too quickly and no one will have protection against it? Isn't that why the world vaccinates every year for every flu season? So which is it? Do we retain some type of cross protection against flu we are exposed to or vaccinated for? Anyone know?

[Gitti]

Originally Posted by 13Sandals

So which is it?

For big pharma, anyway they can make the most amount of $$$$$$$$$ and keep us living in fear of something unseen.

For everyone else, how knows? No one. We are each individuals in that respect (even though we may just be one hologram collectively).

[Gladiolus]

I always found the "no immunity" statements to be weird and confusing. I always think of my response being "Good thing I have an immune system that works and I'll get some immunity when exposed." I mean... so maybe we haven't been exposed to certain flus (and their possible mutations) among many other illnesses but won't my healthy body be making antibodies and handling illness when exposed? Isn't that the whole point of our immune system?
I always feel like I'm missing something when the "no immunity" thing gets pulled out.

[Gladiolus]

Originally Posted by 13Sandals

Do we retain some type of cross protection against flu we are exposed to or vaccinated for? Anyone know?

OH! And I do remember reading about some of the elderly population still have immunity from the 1918 flu. A quick search came up with this: http://health.usnews.com/articles/he...-90-years.html

[nicolebeth]

I think this is an area where doctors talk out of both sides of their mouths. The focus this year is on this "new" flu to which "no one" (born after 1957) has immunity. Yet, each year, they tell us we have no immunity to seasonal flu and we therefore need flu shots.

For instance, our kids' pediatrician was trying to convince us to vax for flu--and said it didn't matter that they had Type A in 2008 or Type B in 2009--they still have no immunity because strains change all of the time. I thought: wait, don't strains change during the year that the vaccine is made? This was especially true in 2007-08 and 2008-09; the dominant A strain wasn't in the 07-08 vax, and the B strain wasn't in the 08-09 vax. So, my kids would have gotten the flu anyway.