Flu vaccine does not reduce risk of severe complications

By David Liu

11/09/2010

Editor's note: For your information, food consumer is the first to report the study.

Italian researchers found that influenza vaccine did not reduce risk of severe complications from influenza viral infection such as in-hospital death, influenza or pneumonia admission in elderly people.

The finding came after Manzoli L. and colleagues from the University G. d'Annunzio of Chieti in Italy examined data from 32,457 elderly people of whom 66.2 percent received influenza vaccine.

According to a recent review, almost all flu vaccine trials with exception of one out of 49 trials have not compared the incidence of flu in the vaccinated population with that in those unvaccinated.

Rather, subjects who received flu shots in influenza vaccine trials were only tested for antigens which were produced in response to flu vaccine. When a flu vaccine generated certain levels of antigens as defined by researchers, the vaccine maker claimed that the flu vaccine worked to prevent flu.

The authors of the current study said this is the same in Italy where influenza vaccine is routinely administered to the elderly population, but the impact on the relieving of the illness burden has been rarely evaluated because the cost for a conventional cohort study would be too high to get it done.

The researchers obtained in Oct 2006 patient information on their immunization status and main outcome like hospitalizations for influenza and or pneumonia through General Practitioners who documented patient information.

They found that the hospitalization rate was low in the sample population, only 7 elderly patients admitted for influenza and 135 for pneumonia.  

But using either bivariate or multivariate analysis, the researchers found that vaccination did not significantly reduce the risk of in-hosptal death, influenza or pneumonia admission.

The study was published in the June 2009 issue of Journal of Preventive Medicine and Hygiene.

Elderly people, young children and people with their immune system compromised after infected with HIV or receiving cancer treatment are believed to be at higher risk of viral infection like influenza.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention never says that flu vaccine may prevent flu in every vaccine recipient. It admits that the efficacy of a flu vaccine depends on the matching of the viruses in a flu vaccine with the circulating strains and because of this, the efficacy is often actually low. But the health agency says even if the drug does not prevent flu, it may help relieve symptoms.

A recent Japanese trial has found that taking high doses of Vitamin D may help reduce the incidence of flu in school children.  Vitamin D is known to help produce antimicrobial peptides which are involved in innate immunity against viruses and viral diseases.

By David Liu

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Related Links:
* Flu Vaccines Cost A Fortune And Don't Work
Eben Harrell, Time Magazine
* New Study Shows Flu Vaccines Are Futile Rubbish
Tom Blackwell, National Post
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