I beg to differ: with a PhD in biochemistry and molecular biology, I have spent an entire career in medical research. I'm fairly sure I have a nuanced depth of understanding of medical research that is matched only by a handful of other FReepers. I also post about it frequently.
Spend a little time investigating the inefficacy of flu vaccine and the great transfer of wealth it represents. Look at Europe and their recommendations re flu vaccine.
That's funny. In a previous post, I said that vaccines happen to be one of my areas of expertise. Oddly, the flu vaccine is the one on which I have the most knowledge. Oh, and Europe uses the same flu vaccines that we use.
Oh sounds good but I’m in the same pond.
Only the U.S. and Canada actually encourage everyone older than 6 months to get the flu vaccine.
Apparently, not a single country in Europe asks the general population to seek that same kind of protection, according to Robb Butler, the World Health Organization technical officer in vaccine preventable diseases and immunizations in the organization’s Europe office in the Netherlands.
That’s because global health experts say the data aren’t there yet to support this kind of blanket vaccination policy, nor is there enough money. In fact, some scientists say the enthusiasm for mass vaccination in the United States may hurt efforts to create a better vaccine.
This year, a year in which the vaccine is supposed to be a good match to the virus, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates the vaccine is only 62% effective.