Sep
01
2008
Flu shot does not lower Flu deaths
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I have gotten a flu shot every year for the last 6 years or so to protect myself from getting the flu. Now a study has been released saying that the chance of dying from the flu is not reduced by getting the shot. I for one do not get the shot to save myself from death but instead to just not have that few weeks of possible downtime from getting a bad flu. Still this is interesting, if people get vaccinated against the flu then why does in not lower fly deaths? Is this becasue the worst of the strains are not protected against? The flu shot does help protect against specific strains of influenza but its ability to help prevent deaths among the elderly may have been exaggerated, a new study suggests. Over the last 20 years in the U.S., vaccination rates among the elderly have increased from 15 to 65 per cent, but hospital admissions and death rates from all causes have not declined proportionately, said Dean Eurich, a clinical epidemiologist and professor at the school of public health at the University of Alberta. Previous reports of a reduction in mortality rates linked to flu shots were based on observational studies. “Only about 10 per cent of winter-time deaths in the United States are attributable to influenza, thus to suggest that the vaccine can reduce 50 per cent of deaths from all causes is implausible in our opinion,” Eurich said. To investigate, Eurich and his colleagues analyzed data from people 65 or older who were hospitalized for pneumonia during the flu and non-flu season. Each vaccinated person was compared to a non-vaccinated person with similar demographics and medical conditions. Healthy-user effectAfter controlling for factors that were not considered or were not available in previous studies reporting a mortality benefit, Eurich’s team concluded the benefit was very small and may be attributed to the healthy-user effect. The healthy-user effect applies to people who are informed about their health and do everything they can to stay healthy, like watching what they eat, exercising regularly, taking medications as prescribed and getting vaccinated, said Dr. Sumit Majumdar, the study’s principal investigator and a medical professor at the university. The researchers hypothesized that if the healthy-user effect was responsible then there should be a difference in mortality benefit during the off season. In the first September issue of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, the team reported 12 per cent of patients died in hospital. After controlling for details such as pneumococcal immunizations, socioeconomic status, as well as sex, smoking, and severity of disease, the mortality benefit seen in previous studies was reduced to a statistically non-significant level of 19 per cent, the researchers said. Looking to make a change and lose some weight? I have reviewed the top diet on the internet and you can go and read over 200 comments people have made about why this diet has worked well for them, as well as some of the problems. Tags: Alberta, Dean Eurich, flu season, flu shots, immunizations, influenza, mortality rates, pneumonia, principal investigator and a medical professor, professor, Sumit Majumdar, the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, United States, University of Alberta, vaccination, vaccination ratesIf you like this post then you will probably like these other related items as well
2 Responses to “Flu shot does not lower Flu deaths”
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Nice post and synopsis of the latest findings. I’m in my fifties, and I’ve gotten the flu shot religiously every year for more than 20 years. I’ve done so for many different reasons over time. Very early on I did so because I worked in the hospital with very sick patients, and didn’t want to get them sick. Like you, I also wanted to avoid getting sick and having personal down time. Though very unscientific, I believe I’ve ’skated’ through every flu season unscathed due to my flu shot. My latest rationalization for getting vaccinated is that I take public transportation to/from work. When flu season hits, the sick folks travelling with me are miserable. I don’t want to get sick, and I certainly don’t want to pass anything along to them. I recommend the shot.
Austin
http://drughealth.blogspot.com/
This article is a slight misrepresentation of their findings. Eurich et al. found that most of an apparent 50% decrease in mortality between vaccinated and non-vaccinated elderly patients admitted *outside of flu season* for pneumonia disappeared when the patients were matched according to various criteria (medications, age, etc.) and grouped as individuals into pairs. They went on to suggest that a “healthy-user” effect (the patients least likely to die, i.e., those most concerned about their health, those who best follow recommendations, etc. are also those most slightly to get flu shots) explains the decreased mortality amongst the vaccinated, and that this effect might also impact estimates of mortality reduction *during flu season* from the flu vaccine. (Note: they did not themselves follow patients through the flu season.) I note that at least one subsequent study that adopted the methodological safe guards suggested by Eurich et al. *confirmed* that flu shots do reduce mortality, even after confounding factors are removed. (See here: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19213779)
Your title: “Flu shot does not lower Flu deaths,” is somewhat misleading (both in general and in regard to the study of Eurlich et al.). Given the serious health consequences for certain demographics of choosing not to vaccinate, and given the hysteria and misinformation surrounding vaccination risk and benefits on the Internet, you might wish to choose your wording more carefully in the future.
Cheers!
Jason