If you missed the flu vaccine...

[Rachels]

You didn't miss much. The CDC released a statement on January 16th saying it was basically ineffective. Here's a blurb about it;

Flu Vaccine Now Officially Documented as Failure


The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that this year’s flu vaccine had “no or low effectiveness” against influenza or influenza-like illness. Depending on how the data were analyzed, the vaccine protected from zero percent to 14 percent of study participants.

In the study, a questionnaire was sent out to 3,100 health care workers asking whether they had received the flu vaccine and whether they had contracted the flu or flu-like symptoms, and 1,886 people responded. The study was the first of its kind to be conducted by the CDC.

However, some say the study had limitations, for instance only 61 percent of the health care workers responded to the survey, and participants reported whether or not they had the flu based on their own observations, not lab testing.

Researchers say additional studies are needed to evaluate the effectiveness of this year’s flu vaccine against laboratory-confirmed flu and flu-related complications, including hospitalization and death, and they hope further studies will show more favorable results for the vaccine.


-Rachel
Mom to Abigail Rose
5/18/02

[COElizabeth]

I read a story about the same report, but the one I read added that the current vaccine is still expected to offer good protection against the strains likely to be prevalent in the spring. So it may not be useless after all.

Elizabeth, Mom to James, 9-20-02

[flagger]

>Flu Vaccine Now Officially Documented as Failure

Not true. That banner headline from the New York Times is misleading. The actual report can be found here:

http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5301a3.htm

Preliminary Assessment of the Effectiveness of the 2003--04 Inactivated Influenza Vaccine

This report summarizes the results of that study, which indicated that TIV had no or low effectiveness against ILI. However, additional studies are needed to evaluate the effectiveness of the 2003--04 vaccine against laboratory-confirmed influenza and influenza-related complications, including hospitalization and death.

If it is such a failure then why does the summary continue?

Influenza vaccine continues to be recommended, particularly for persons at increased risk for influenza-related complications, their household contacts, and health-care personnel.

Further proof that the headline is misleading comes from this sentence:

>However, some say the study had limitations, for instance
>only 61 percent of the health care workers responded to the
>survey, and participants reported whether or not they had the
>flu based on their own observations, not lab testing.

In the CDC link posted above, the editorial summary also contains this statement:

The findings in this report are subject to at least five limitations.

First, study participants were not selected at random to receive influenza vaccination, and persons with greater patient exposure and possibly greater exposure to influenza viruses were more likely to be vaccinated.

Second, a greater percentage of persons aged >50 years and persons with one or more conditions associated with increased risk for influenza-related complications were vaccinated.

Third, other biases, including participation in the study and reporting illness based on vaccination, might have occurred. Such biases and other differences between the vaccinated and unvaccinated groups are very likely to have occurred, given the disparities noted. For example, persons who were vaccinated and became ill might have been more likely to complete the questionnaire, biasing the study to indicate lower effectiveness.

Fourth, influenza vaccination and illnesses were self-reported.

Finally, the sample size might not have been large enough to detect vaccine effectiveness against ILI, particularly because a large proportion of the respondents were vaccinated.

There are lots of different bugs out there that give a person "flu-like" symptoms. True influenza can only be verified by lab tests and "The flu" does manage to kill 30,000 people yearly.

[JElaineB]

The NY Times did publish a correction on Fri Jan 16:

"Correction: Jan. 16, 2004, Friday

"The headline and the opening paragraph of an article yesterday about a government study of the effectiveness of this year's influenza vaccine misstated a finding. The research, by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, suggested that the vaccine was largely ineffective against influenza and other ailments that resemble it. But because of the limits of the study, the researchers were unable to conclude specifically that it was ineffective against any influenza strain, including the Fujian strain that has caused a majority of cases this year."

Jennifer
mom to Jacob 9/27/02

[Rachels]

I hope not, LOL! I got it, and I hate getting useless shots. :)

-Rachel
Mom to Abigail Rose
5/18/02

[Sarah1]

Thanks Rachel--and it was interesting to hear what others added as well. I don't know when I would ever get all this information if it weren't for these boards! :)

[sntm]

ditto.

fwiw, Jack almost definitely had flu (no lab tests but documented (lab-proven) case in his daycare class prior to him coming down with flu-like symptoms) after receiving only the 1st of two shots. DH and I, who also got vaccinated, never came down with it. Purely anecdotal, but may make you feel better for undergoing a needle!

shannon
not-even-pregnant-yet-overachiever
trying-to-conceive :)
PREGNANT! EDD 6/9/03
mama to Jack 6/6/03

[starrynight]

Notice their timing?? I personally hate the pharmacutical companies and am not to thrilled with docs at the moment either.

Get everyone hyped into a panic, make them run out and get all this flu shot, spend money, waste time and then say "oops sorry it didn't work". Probably goes for the rest of the vaccines too...

My nephew got the flu about a month or so after his flu shot so it didn't do him any good, he also got pnemonia, doc things as an after effect of the flu. He is fine now but was sick for about a month straight poor kid.