But what if they're all wrong?
That's the premise of this provocative piece in his month's Atlantic titled "Does the Vaccine Matter?" Some flu researchers are expressing caution about both the vaccine's abilities as well as the use of antivirals to treat the swine flu. The article states:
But what if everything we think we know about fighting influenza is wrong? What if flu vaccines do not protect people from dying—particularly the elderly, who account for 90 percent of deaths from seasonal flu? And what if the expensive antiviral drugs that the government has stockpiled over the past few years also have little, if any, power to reduce the number of people who die or are hospitalized?
Some medical experts argue that people who need protection from the flu the most are not getting it from the vaccine and the drugs out to treat it. Flu vaccines and antivirals don't offer as much protection as they experts tout, say some experts quoted in the story. So, if a severe pandemic strikes, we may not be prepared, the authors write.
Controversial indeed. The article has received heaps of criticism from science blogs and not everyone is convinced of the story's premise and many are coming out to show evidence that flu vaccines do work and that the H1N1 vaccine should work just as well.
The article, written by Shannon Brownlee, author of the book Overtreated, and medical reporter Jeanne Lenzer, notes that so much about the flu -- and how to fight it effectively -- is unknown. The article includes voices from experts who doubt the prevailing scientific wisdom that flu shots significantly reduce the risk of death and are calling for more studies of whether they are effective.
Will this story add more fuel to anti-vaccine fire? Your thoughts?
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