Flu shots value in doubt
An Italian study has found that flu shots prevent only 45% of flu-like illnesses, hospital admissions, and flu-related deaths among nursing home and long-term care patients.
The study, by the public health department Asti, Italy, which has been published in The Cochrane Library, a publication of the Cochrane Collaboration – an international organisation which evaluates medical research – also found that flu vaccinations prevented only 25% of these outcomes in older adults still living in the general community.
It said that current recommendations supporting regular flu vaccinations for older people were based on evidence which mainly relates to people on higher incomes receiving better health care who die from all causes. This could mean that the apparent benefits of that vaccination could just be a reflection of better health among those who receive the shots.
Research that focused on vaccination’s effects on all causes of death rather than just flu illnesses are likely to lead to unrealistic estimates of the effects of the vaccines, the research said. However, the Asti study did show that that vaccinating the elderly in institutions such as nursing homes may well be effective in preventing about 45% of pneumonia cases, hospital admissions, and flu-related deaths.
