PROOF: Studies Show the Flu Vaccine Effectiveness is “Lacking” for the Elderly : An Exclusive Renegade Health Article by Dr. J.E. Williams

By J. E. Williams, OMD, FAAIM

There is no clear, easy answer to whether you should get vaccinated every year against the flu. However, there is a good argument why you might not want to get vaccinated. True, some vaccination in theory and practice works. But, it only works really well against certain kinds of viruses. Smallpox is an example of how well it works. Influenza viruses, on the other hand, are complex and constantly mutating, and there are just too many different kinds to develop one well-targeted vaccine.

So, it’s not that vaccines don’t work, it’s that they don’t work most of the time.

There are a lot of emotional issues (and for good reasons) that surround vaccines. However, when your health is concerned and the life of yourself and your children are on the line, it’s best to get real and look at the science. An article in The Lancet in October 2011 that reviewed US vaccination results found,

“Influenza vaccines can provide moderate protection against virologically confirmed influenza, but such protection is greatly reduced or absent in some seasons. Evidence for protection in adults aged 65 years or older is lacking.” [1]

Given that flu vaccines are pushed on American elderly, lacking evidence for efficacy is a sad commentary on universal coverage. Here’s another:

“We conclude that frailty selection bias and use of non-specific endpoints such as all-cause mortality have led cohort studies to greatly exaggerate vaccine benefits. The remaining evidence base is currently insufficient to indicate the magnitude of the mortality benefit, if any, that elderly people derive from the vaccination program.” [2]

If that weren’t effort to question use, here’s another study from China:

“A slight increase in herd immunity against pandemic (H1N1) 2009 influenza was observed in Beijing, China, during the 2010/2011 season. Prior vaccination and immunity had a suppressive impact on immune response toward this novel influenza virus, elicited by 2010/2011 trivalent vaccine.” [3]

First of all, people are not “herds.” That editorial slip is unacceptable. Second, reduced immune response caused by prior vaccination is a powerful consideration for not getting vaccinated every year. Third, read “slight increase.” Does only a little improvement justify the price of development?

I won’t bore you much longer, but I hope my point is well taken: Even the sciencequestions the value of universal flu vaccination every year. If you still have doubts, let’s look at one more study.

Read the entire article here.