DOES THE FLu SHOT EVEN WORK?
It is hard to find ANY valid scien-tific evidence to support flu vaccine effectiveness or safety – and this is particularly true for key target groups for which we are told the flu shot is most important – seniors, children and pregnant women!
For instance, a large-scale, sys-tematic review of 51 studies, pub-lished in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews in 2006, found no evidence that the flu vaccine is any more effective than a placebo in pre-venting influenza in children under two. The studies involved 260,000 children, age 6 to 23 months.
In 2010, Cochrane also reviewed the available scientific evidence that flu shots protect the elderly, and the results were abysmal. The authors concluded that:
“The available evidence is of poor quality and provides no guidance regarding the safety, efficacy or ef-fectiveness of influenza vaccines for people aged 65 years or older.”
Then there is the new study in The Lan-cet Infectious Diseases, which reveals that the flu vaccine prevents lab confirmed type A or type B influ-enza in only 1.5 out of every 100 vaccinated
adults… although the media is reporting this to mean “60 percent effective,” depending on how you use the statistics. The study confirmed that flu shots provide only “moderate protection” against the flu, and in some seasons pro-tection is altogether “reduced or absent.”
For instance, a large-scale, sys-tematic review of 51 studies, pub-lished in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews in 2006, found no evidence that the flu vaccine is any more effective than a placebo in pre-venting influenza in children under two. The studies involved 260,000 children, age 6 to 23 months.
In 2010, Cochrane also reviewed the available scientific evidence that flu shots protect the elderly, and the results were abysmal. The authors concluded that:
“The available evidence is of poor quality and provides no guidance regarding the safety, efficacy or ef-fectiveness of influenza vaccines for people aged 65 years or older.”
Then there is the new study in The Lan-cet Infectious Diseases, which reveals that the flu vaccine prevents lab confirmed type A or type B influ-enza in only 1.5 out of every 100 vaccinated
adults… although the media is reporting this to mean “60 percent effective,” depending on how you use the statistics. The study confirmed that flu shots provide only “moderate protection” against the flu, and in some seasons pro-tection is altogether “reduced or absent.”
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