Posted on 10/26/2011 8:36:35 PM PDT by arderkrag
Annual flu shots protect only about 59 percent of the population -- far less than previously thought -- according to a new study led by University of Minnesota researchers.
The study found "major holes and gaps'' in the vaccine given to tens of millions of Americans every year to prevent influenza and its complications, said Michael Osterholm, the lead scientist and head of the university's Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy. But until a better vaccine comes along, Osterholm said, 59 percent "is a lot better than zero."
--SNIP--
"This is the most comprehensive review of influenza vaccine that I've seen," she said. She predicted it will be the subject of discussion this week in Atlanta, where committee members are meeting. "This study is sort of shaking the underpinnings, if you will, of that 70 to 90 percent [effectiveness] figure that's often been quoted."
(Excerpt) Read more at startribune.com ...
And yet no one is touting everyone getting the Pneumonia vaccine - Go figure. Pneumonia is what kills more people than the flu. The CDC no longer reports flu and pneumonia separately as “cause of death” (Michigan doesn’t either). Mainly because there is no medical proof that you actually had the flu before you got pneumonia...just more guess work.
Are the drug companies getting rich off of $25 per shot— yes, if they prevail in getting the Nanny State to mandate the vaccination of 300 million people. Health care workers are the first line of guinea pig civilians to be forced. Next the schools. Next your workplace. If there were a compelling case to do this, I would do it - I should not be forced to do it when there is not evidence to support supplanting my right to self-protection.
It’s amazing how many on both side do indeed support “anti-vaccine”, “natural” snake-oil sales, and “alternative” pseudotherapies, and the like.
However, I still think more are left-wing freaks than rightists. Maybe not by much.
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