Do Flu Shots Help the Elderly
A new study based on more than three decades of data suggests that giving influenza vaccine to older adults might not have saved any lives. Instead, the authors say, the government should consider extending vaccination to school-aged children, the most frequent spreaders of the virus.
The study, led by researchers from the National Institutes of Health, challenges standard government dogma. Yearly flu shots have been recommended for people 65 years of age or older since the 1960s and for those aged 50 or older since 2000. The study found that vaccination rates had risen among the elderly to 65% in 2001 from 20% before 1980. However, the researchers could find no corresponding decrease in death rates. cheap lexapro
Although the study examined data from the whole elderly population over time, it did not directly compare elderly people who have been vaccinated with those who have not. Previous studies that made that comparison found a decreased rate of winter deaths from all causes among those who had been vaccinated.
Responding to the latest study, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it planned no changes in its position on who should receive flu vaccine.
