Well, according to well-respected meta-analysis:
- "There is not enough evidence to decide whether routine vaccination to prevent influenza in healthy adults is effective"
- "There is no high quality evidence that vaccinating healthcare workers reduces the incidence of influenza or its complications in the elderly in institutions"
- "according to reliable evidence the usefulness of vaccines [in elderly people] in the community is modest"
...certainly not the defender of hope and freedom they are sometimes made out to be, especially given the huge amounts of money poured into providing them. The "not enough evidence" conclusion seems reasonably mild but it becomes stronger when the bottom-drawer effect (where negative studies go unpublished) is taken into account. At least it looks like the flu vaccine is useful in children. Maybe.
2 comments
Penny :: Monday, April 6th
I had a 'flu vaccine to-day. Don't break my happy. :(
Begg Mazumbar :: Tuesday, April 7th
Just so you know, "bottom drawer effect" has a formal name in research. It's called publication bias and good meta-analysis applies statistical analysis such as funnel plots to test for it.
Cheers
