Posted on 10/26/2011 8:36:35 PM PDT by arderkrag
Annual flu shots protect only about 59 percent of the population -- far less than previously thought -- according to a new study led by University of Minnesota researchers.
The study found "major holes and gaps'' in the vaccine given to tens of millions of Americans every year to prevent influenza and its complications, said Michael Osterholm, the lead scientist and head of the university's Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy. But until a better vaccine comes along, Osterholm said, 59 percent "is a lot better than zero."
--SNIP--
"This is the most comprehensive review of influenza vaccine that I've seen," she said. She predicted it will be the subject of discussion this week in Atlanta, where committee members are meeting. "This study is sort of shaking the underpinnings, if you will, of that 70 to 90 percent [effectiveness] figure that's often been quoted."
(Excerpt) Read more at startribune.com ...
Group interest would actually be better served by not getting a shot, and letting people build up a resistance through exposure.
As I said, no comment on the whether or not to get the shot, but very glad to hear you are not getting sick as you used to.
I always get the shot and haven’t had the flu in years.
And I don’t want it.
59% is better than nothing.
We need to quit demanding perfection. It’s not happening in thie world. We do our best, and deal with the rest.
(That goes for elections, too.)
When the “lesser good” knocks you flat, maybe we’ll chip in to send you some chicken soup.
The arrogance on this thread just begs for nature’s slap in the face.
Flu, appendicitis, scarlet fever, polio, whooping cough — all once major causes of death, especially among the young.
I, for one, am immensely grateful for medical science and how much better we have it than did our forebears.
(1) The "mass immunization" argument is a canard. Viruses are the most prevalent form of life in the universe and have been around since the dawn of time. How do you think they've survived? If 100% of the population were immunized the virus would merely mutate into a form that will resist that immunity. Do you suppose it's just coincidence that over the years the number of strains of various viruses has increased exponentially? They are living things that want to continue living and are quite accomplished at finding a way.
(2) Using the Spanish Flu Epidemic as justification for mass immunization? Puh-leez! That was just after the turn of the century when there were no antibiotics to speak of to prevent secondary infection, which was the major contributing factor to fatalities. Not to mention the sanitation issues and limited knowledge of infectious diseases.
Is anyone really getting rich on a $25 flu shot?
It's very hard to take you seriously with a comment like this. When you have major hospital systems, insurance companies, and the Feds buying up millions of doses to distribute to the masses you bet someone's getting rich. I have nothing against anyone getting rich. What I do have a problem with is companies getting rich by foisting a phony cure-all that will, IMHO, in the long run create more problems than it will solve.
If you think the flu shot will help you then by all means get one. Just realize that the shot immunizes you and you alone and does not prevent you from carrying or spreading the virus to others.
Hey thanks! And when you're knocked flat by a flu strain that you didn't happen to be immunized against or that mutated to become resistant, we'll return the favor.
The arrogance on this thread just begs for nature’s slap in the face.
Pot...meet Kettle....
The sum of all medical advances pales in comparison to the basics.
True, secondary infection is often a factor in flu mortality.
HOWEVER, the Spanish Flu was particularly virulent, often taking lives quickly, not from secondary infection but rather from a phenomenon known as “cytokine storm” in which the lungs were attacked and rapidly destroyed.
The young and healthy were as vulnerable as those with compromised health, and they died quickly, long before a secondary infection could establish.
Some strains of the H5N1 “bird” flu do the same thing.
Please don’t discount the danger, or efforts of researchers to protect us from another such pandemic.
I don't discount the efforts of researchers who may truly be working to lessen the effect of a possible pandemic. But this flu shot mania currently going on has nothing to do with altruism. It is a knee-jerk overreaction to a limited problem that has not taken into account long-term consequences. The statement "follow the money" has never failed to explain questionable actions.
I’ve had the flu several times, including the pig flu. On years when I got the flu shot, I did not get the flu.
Related?
I’ve never gotten polio, mumps, rubella, measles, shingles, and a host of things I’ve gotten shots for, even when in third-world s—holes where people had this stuff.
Related?
Because there are so many strains of the flu, constantly combining and changing, flu shots are a bet. They pick a handful they think will hit, inoculate against those, and then it’s good luck to you. I never get the shot because I never get the flu, if I started getting the flu though I’d get the shot. It’s a place your bets take your chances world.
That’s crazy talk.
At least if you use the logic of several on this thread.
“59% is better than nothing.”
Correct. I’d take that bet all day long.
And, of course, the free-loaders who don’t take the shot are protected by those who do, in that at least partial herd immunity is created.
For whatever reason, anti-vaccine craziness is one thing the far-right and far-left have in common.
I have no idea why, but it is a fact.
MY college age daughter was just about to get the swine flu vaccine when she caught the dreaded disease.
It was by contact with a confirmed (by test) infected person. She hardly knew she was sick.
Best immunization ever, getting it.
Google NAC (N-ACETYL CYSTEINE) which is an amino acid and flu, it’s virtual impossible to get the flu if you you’re taking it, but I’m not a doctor.
Who needs a stupid shot, if it only works on 59% that means 9% increase over the 50/50 change if you don’t take the shot which is basically nothing. If you want to line up and get this years concoction have at it ...
If you prefer the bat shit rub......... LOL
Didn’t know that - thanks!
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