“Public health officials have sent out the message that the flu vaccine works about as effectively as other vaccines, about 70 to 90 percent of the time, but I would say that’s been overestimated,” said Michael Osterholm

1/7/13
Excerpt:

A 160-page University of Minnesota analysis of the flu vaccine published last October concluded that the yearly immunization is, at best, about 60 percent effective in children and young healthy adults and may not be very effective at all in elderly people who are most at risk of dying from flu-related complications.


“Public health officials have sent out the message that the flu vaccine works about as effectively as other vaccines, about 70 to 90 percent of the time, but I would say that’s been overestimated,” said Michael Osterholm, an epidemiologist at the University of Minnesota’s Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy who led the team that issued the flu vaccine report. “But some protection is better than nothing, so it’s still a good idea to get the vaccine. I just don’t think we should be overselling its benefits.”

Full article:  http://bostonglobe.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/2013/01/07/fighting-flu-limits-modern-medicine/3y915UcpP3wAji7BqMJXzO/story.html