FLU Shot and the Elderly: Nothing New
You will have heard in recent days that the spin on the recent flu vaccine failure, especially with the elderly, is making the rounds on almost all media outlets. When I first heard this I thought where have these people been and why aren't they reporting with real facts and connected reporting of the same issue for many years past.
February 21, 2013ATLANTA (AP) — It turns out this year's flu shot is doing a startlingly dismal job of protecting senior citizens, the most vulnerable age group.The vaccine is proving only 9 percent effective in people 65 and older against the harsh strain of the flu that is predominant this season, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday. SOURCE
I guess it is the continuation of the promotion of confusion or just plain not wanting you to know.
In general the issue of vaccinating Elders and getting poor results is not new. And if it is well established that the effectiveness is just not there then why continue the practice?
"... the vaccine's ability to keep the elderly alive was, "if present at all...very small and statistically non-significant and may simply be a healthy- user artifact that they were unable to identify".
" If an elderly person is not in good health, flu vaccination does little to help ward off lung infections, Dutch investigators report."
" In a review of 64 studies in 98 flu seasons, For elderly living in nursing homes, flu shots were non-significant for preventing the flu. For elderly living in the community, vaccines were not (significantly) effective against influenza, ILI or pneumonia.
Reference: “Vaccines for preventing influenza in the elderly.” The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 3(2006)."
NB: Also note that water fluoridation suppresses immunity and is having the effect of limiting vaccine effectiveness at an average rate of 50%. Funny how this number is similar to the reported diminished effectiveness in the 2012 vaccine.
From the top 30+ posts on this topic from Natural Health News...
Feb 22, 2005
It will come as no surprise to vaccine critics that flu vaccination does not result in a decreased incidence of deaths in the elderly. In my book The Vaccine Guide (North Atlantic Books, 2002) I stated that, "The primary targeted ...
Mar 25, 2010
In a review of 64 studies in 98 flu seasons, For elderly living in nursing homes, flu shots were non-significant for preventing the flu. For elderly living in the community, vaccines were not (significantly) effective against influenza, ...
Oct 12, 2006
If an elderly person is not in good health, flu vaccination does little to help ward off lung infections, Dutch investigators report. They found that annual flu shots appear to reduce the risk of developing lower respiratory tract ...
Nov 05, 2009
They split 704 elderly patients into two groups, one of which had gotten a flu shot and one had not. They adjusted for criteria that had been ignored in other studies – like education, income and social status – and concluded ...