I read the complete story. Echinacea doesn't work for me or anyone I know. Period. The German studies are meaningless as they don't mention any actual results. They could be fictional studies for all I know, as they are just the usual anonymous "two large studies", like the "thousands of observers" or "a friend who I know that knows someone that ...". The supposed Pensylvania study mentions 95 employees drinking, probably, larger than normal quantities of a warm fluid and receiving more than mormal medical attention. No controll group, no mention of what consists of the time of illness, nothing scientific is mentiond. A placebo effect is as valid as an assumption as is the efectiveness of echinacea based on the information made available in the article.
Perhaps you should read the complete story more carefully?
I've mixed results with it. Helped me a couple of years, so it seemed, and then .... no effect noted. Used in conjunction with golden seal. Nowdays I stick to zinc tablets with bilberry, lots of clear warm liquids.
Two months back started taking cod liver oil and vitamin B complex for carpal tunnel. Helped *greatly* in conjunction with hand exercises and learning to use mouse southpaw -- use either hand now. Side effect seems to have been that I missed two or three of the colds and flus that have occurred around me. Had been pretty susceptible prior. Believe it was the cod liver oil.