Mary Talley Bowden on flu shot: what the evidence says · JRE #2335
SUBJECT: FLU SHOT
Not a true/false call. Every claim is logged with its sources; read the exhibits below.
So the flu shot has never been shown to prevent hospitalization or death.
What the evidence says 01 / RECORD
Peer-reviewed research directly contradicts this claim. A systematic review and meta-analysis of test-negative studies found seasonal influenza vaccination reduced the risk of hospitalization with laboratory-confirmed influenza among adults by 41 percent (95 percent CI 34 to 48), with protection of 51 percent among adults aged 18 to 64 and 37 percent among those 65 and older. A separate population study of Ontario residents aged 65 and older estimated vaccination reduced influenza-associated pneumonia and influenza hospitalizations by 19 percent (95 percent CI 4 to 31) and reduced death within 30 days of such hospitalization by 25 percent (95 percent CI 13 to 37). Multiple independent studies thus show measurable reductions in both influenza hospitalization and death, so the statement that the flu shot has never been shown to prevent hospitalization or death is false.