Vaccination Investigation

Hold on to your NyQuil because a team of heath researchers just concluded that flu shots might not be as effective as you thought.

An article in the San Francisco Chronicle detailed that the elderly in particular don’t benefit from flu vaccines.

Regardless of this current research, U.S. health officials still stress that people over the age of 65 should seek out flu vaccines. Seems like a strange thing for health officials to do when people over the age of 65 wont necessarily benefit from them.

At a time when flu season is just around the corner the results of this research can be unsettling for older individuals, especially for those in nursing homes who are more likely to be exposed to individuals who are sick.

So it’s not surprising that older people become targets for drug companies, or that flu shots will continue to be recommended for millions of Americans this year.

Health officials say that, “Even a partly effective vaccine would be better than no vaccine at all.”

You wouldn’t buy a partly effective car, right? Would you take a trip on a partly effective air plane? Didn’t think so.. So why would you line up and pay for a partly effective vaccine?

You have a better chance of combating the flu by washing your hands.

It seems as though the only ones who profit from flu vaccines are the companies that make them, not the individuals who line up to take them. They want to convince you that the only thing that will prevent a horrible flu, comes in a tiny syringe.

Drug companies want to sell more vaccines to make more money, bottom line.

The web site for the Center For Disease Control states that , “Vaccines can reduce the chances of getting the flu by 70%-90% in healthy adults.”

They key words are healthy adults, of course people who are already in good health will have a better chance of avoiding the flu.

What happens to the older people who need to protection from the flu the most?

Researchers say that flu shots “stir up protective antibodies quite readily in young people, but the protective effect tends to decrease with age.”

There is no doubt that there needs to be a vaccine that will be effective for older adults and researchers are trying to come up with possible solutions to the current vaccine problems.

Researchers say that, “One solution is to develop new vaccines for the elderly that are boosted with ‘adjuvants’ a chemical that tends to stir up antibodies against invading viruses.

But developing a new vaccine can cost millions of dollars and take years to produce, leaving those who need protection from the flu on their own for now.


The Center For Disease Control had some suggestions for flu prevention on their website.

Avoid close contact.
Avoid close contact with people who are sick. When you are sick, keep your distance from others to protect them from getting sick too.

Stay home when you are sick.
If possible, stay home from work, school, and errands when you are sick. You will help prevent others from catching your illness.

Cover your mouth and nose.
Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when coughing or sneezing. It may prevent those around you from getting sick.

Clean your hands.
Washing your hands often will help protect you from germs.

Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth.
Germs are often spread when a person touches something that is contaminated with germs and then touches his or her eyes, nose, or mouth.

Practice other good health habits.
Get plenty of sleep, be physically active, manage your stress, drink plenty of fluids, and eat nutritious food

Content Source: Coordinating Center for Infectious Diseases (CCID)