Doctor Mercola informs us . . .
It’s that time again. Flu season. And with it, a constant barrage of reminders to get your annual flu shot. Interestingly enough, what you’re being told about the influenza vaccine’s effectiveness and the reality are two very different stories. In January 2015, U.S. government officials admitted that, in most years, flu shots are — at best — 50 to 60 percent effective at preventing lab confirmed type A or B influenza requiring medical care.1
At the end of that same year, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) analysis2 of flu vaccine effectiveness revealed that, between 2005 and 2015, the influenza vaccine was actually less than 50 percent effective more than half of the time. I wonder if the reality might be even worse than that.
Research from 2011 shows just how easy it is to inflate efficacy rates simply by using different end points.3 At that time, they found that by using serologic measures, i.e., the increase in influenza antibodies identified in the blood, results in an overestimation of vaccine efficacy.
During the 2015/2016 flu season, FluMist, the live virus nasal spray that typically has been recommended for children in recent years, had a failure rate of 97 percent.4 Its failure was so epic, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommended FluMist be taken off the list of recommended flu vaccines for the 2016 to 2017 season, a recommendation CDC officials ended up heeding. There are many other examples of the influenza vaccine not protecting people as promised. So, what might we expect from the vaccine this year?
Take it from Doctors and health experts; when it comes to preventing the flu …
1 Comment
Hi !
You forget the ‘flu vaccine is a mix of the ‘Usual Suspects’ plus a ‘best guess’ / extrapolation of the Winter’s most likely strain / sub-strain.
This has to be decided about six months in advance to allow production and distribution to ‘ramp up’. Yeah, SIX MONTHS.
Some years they get it remarkably right, other years they don’t, because the predicted ‘active’ strain / sub-strain mutates or is out-performed by another.
Unless you have a valid medical reason, such as proven allergy, get your seasonal vaccination and contribute your small bit to ‘Community Immunity’.
Likewise, get your ‘decadal’ pneumonia vaccination, too. Should disaster strike, and your medical provision declare ‘Code Black’, declaring these will provide valuable triage points. Put bluntly, given a little treatment, you are more likely to survive than the ‘Anti-Vaxxer’ beside you…
Feeling incentivised ??