Risks of influenza worse than risks of vaccination
To the Editor:
As physicians specializing in infectious diseases, we are deeply alarmed by the misinformation that has been presented in several recent letters to the editor. We would like to address the two most concerning myths that have been perpetuated in some of these letters.
Influenza vaccines don’t work: False! The Cochrane Collaboration, an international organization widely respected for its objective and rigorous reviews of medical literature, reports that the nasal spray influenza vaccine prevented 82 percent of illness caused by the influenza virus in healthy children above the age of 2 years. The traditional flu shot reduced illness by 59 percent in healthy children. Similar results were found for healthy adults where 80 percent of cases of influenza were avoided in years where there was a good match between the vaccine and the circulating strains of virus.
Fortunately, most years there is good match. It is true, unfortunately, that the vaccine is not as effective in very young children or in elderly adults, which makes it even more important for healthy friends and family members of these at-risk populations to get vaccinated. This is supported by studies which have indicated that a high rate of influenza vaccination in children is associated with a substantial reduction of flu illness in adults. Influenza vaccination is a Centers for Disease Control and World Health Organization recommendation.
Influenza vaccines are not safe: False! Influenza vaccines have been around for decades and have an extraordinarily good safety record. The risks associated with influenza are far greater than the potential harm of the vaccine itself. The exaggeration of the risks and the uncertainty this creates about this time-tested safe vaccine puts our entire community at risk.
We hope that people who are considering getting vaccinated against either seasonal influenza or the novel H1N1 influenza look at the science that clearly supports influenza vaccines as being both effective and safe.
Dr. Mitchell Brodey
Community General Hospital
Dr. Shelley A. Gilroy
Crouse and Upstate University hospitals
Dr. Sally Klemens
St. Joseph’s Hospital Health Center