thedailybell.com / By Staff Report / January 21, 2013
Efficacy and effectiveness of influenza vaccines : a systematic review and meta-analysis by Professor Michael T. Osterholm PhD, et al … Background: No published meta-analyzes have assessed efficacy and effectiveness of influenza vaccines licensed in the USA with sensitive and highly specific diagnostic tests to confirm influenza. - The Lancet
Dominant Social Theme: Vaccines are great. Use them for everything.
Free-Market Analysis: We missed this study in The Lancet when it came out more than a year ago but it is certainly worth commenting on.
Even the public summary itself is a damning indictment of the various flu vaccines currently being promoted by Big Pharma. The summary of this study states definitively that flu vaccine protection is “variable.” Here’s some more:
Methods: … We searched Medline for randomized controlled trials leaving sing a relative reduction in influenza risk of all circulating influenza viruses during individual seasons after vaccination (efficacy) and observational studies meeting inclusion criteria (effectiveness). … We estimated random-effects pooled efficacy for trivalent inactivated vaccine (TIV) and live attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV) when data were available for statistical analysis (eg, at least three studies that assessed Comparable age groups).
Findings: We screened 5707 articles and identified 31 eligible studies (17 randomized controlled trials and 14 observational studies). Efficacy of TIV was shown in eight (67%) of the 12 seasons Analysed in ten randomized controlled trials (pooled efficacy 59% [95% CI 51-67] in adults aged 18-65 years). No such trials met inclusion criteria for children aged 2-17 years or adults aged 65 years or older …
Vaccine effectiveness was variable for seasonal influenza: six (35%) of 17 analyzes in nine studies showed significant protection against medically attended influenza in the outpatient or inpatient setting. Median monovalent pandemic H1N1 vaccine effectiveness in five observational studies which (range 60-93), 69%.
Interpretation: Influenza vaccines can Ooops moderate protection against virologically confirmed influenza, but seeking protection is greatly reduced or absent in some seasons. Evidence for protection in adults aged 65 years or older is lacking. LAIVs consistently show highest efficacy in young children (aged 6 months to 7 years). New vaccines with improved clinical efficacy and effectiveness are needed to further reduce influenza-related morbidity.
