Thanks for your response. I think you may have misread the research data referenced. It was a review of 51 different studies with over 290000 babies over 6 months old, not under. Also, the CDC guidelines recommend not to vaccinate if your are allergic to vaccinations. How does that sound? Not very reassuring. You have to be vaccinated in order to know if you will have a reaction.
2. Do flu shots work?
Not in babies: In a review of more than 51 studies involving more than
294,000 children it was found there was ?no evidence that injecting
children 6-24 months of age with a flu shot was any more effective than
placebo. In children over 2 yrs, it was only effective 33% of the time in
preventing the flu. Reference: Vaccines for preventing influenza in healthy
children.” The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 2 (2008).
In addition, we do not know how many of the new syndromes manifesting within our society are a result of over vaccinating. That being said, in countries where poor sanitation, hygiene and health infrastructure is present, vaccination
may outweigh potential known and unknown risks. We do know that contaminated viral strains have been implicated in cancer tissues in offspring of mothers that were given the vaccine.
The bottom line is who do you believe? I believe that the human body has a “host defense system” that turns of and on when needed, provided that the toxic load is reduced to a minimum and nutrition is delivered consistently. This is the true way to reduce and prevent the symptoms of sickness. Vaccination should not be over used just as antibacterial soaps should not.
Thank you for the dialogue.
Stay Strong and In Great Health...
However, efficacy is much better than placebo. Placebo effect can be as high as 10%, but for most instances, it's less than 6-7%. I don't believe it's possible for communicable diseases.
The "germ theory" is the best explanation for why people get sick with communicable disease. The "toxin" is the virus, bacteria or parasite.
The Cochrane reviews evaluate disease burden and complications over the entire population, both vaccinated and unvaccinated. The purpose of those studies is more for population health than for individuals - in other words, the bean counters.
Those who are vaccinated do have fewer hospitalizations and deaths than the vaccinated population, even in the years when new strains pop up between February and the following winter season.
The numbers and explanations below are much better, as they are from multiple reliable sources: http://www.cdc.gov/flu/professionals/vaccination/effectivenessqa.htm#vary
"How effective is the inactivated influenza vaccine (IIV)? Overalland"Overall, in years when the vaccine and circulating viruses are well-matched, influenza vaccines can be expected to reduce laboratory-confirmed influenza by approximately 70% to 90% in healthy adults <65 years of age. Several studies have also found reductions in febrile illness, influenza-related work absenteeism, antibiotic use, and doctor visits.
"In years when the vaccine strains are not well matched to circulating strains, vaccine effectiveness can be variably reduced. For example, in a study among persons 50-64 years during the 2003-04 season, when the vaccine strains were not optimally matched, inactivated influenza vaccine effectiveness against laboratory-confirmed influenza was 60% among persons without high-risk conditions, and 48% among those with high risk conditions, but it was 90% against laboratory-confirmed influenza hospitalization (Herrera, et al Vaccine 2006). A study in children during the same year found vaccine effectiveness of about 50% against medically diagnosed influenza and pneumonia without laboratory confirmation (Ritzwoller, Pediatrics 2005). However, in some years when vaccine and circulating strains were not well-matched, no vaccine effectiveness can be demonstrated in some studies, even in healthy adults (Bridges, JAMA 2000). It is not possible in advance of the influenza season to predict how well the vaccine and circulating strains will be matched, and how that match may affect the degree of vaccine effectiveness."
""Children""A 4-year randomized, placebo-controlled trial of children aged 1-15 years found vaccine effectiveness ranging from 77% to 91%, following only one dose of vaccine given to previously unvaccinated children (Neuzil, Pediatric Infectious Diseases Journal, 2001).
"Another 2-year study of children aged 6-24 months found that the vaccine was 66% effective against laboratory-confirmed influenza in year 1 of the study. Only children who were fully vaccinated (i.e. had either 2 doses if not previously vaccinated, or 1 dose if previously vaccinated) versus unvaccinated children were included in the analysis. In the other year, few cases of influenza occurred, making it difficult to assess the vaccine’s effectiveness.
"A study of influenza vaccine effectiveness among >5,000 children aged 6-23 months found vaccine effectiveness of 49% against clinically diagnosed pneumonia or influenza among fully vaccinated children (Ritzwoller, Pediatrics 2005).
"All of these studies together suggest substantial benefit from influenza vaccination of children. "