Flu vaccines are mostly a guess, yes. BUT, they do have a fairly good hit rate and are still highly recommended. Especially for adults.

For most people, if they don’t offer immunity, they will lessen the severity of any infection.

Makes me wonder then if vaccines cause autism? That has also been hotly denied by the science establishment.

How do you know what you know, and how do you change your mind? How do you act rationally in a world of dispute?

See–your input was not wasted. I can also see “the establishment” coasting on old models of intervention that used to work until they hit the new monster. Thats psychology–as you (should) say, not malevolence==but I worship science so much, I gotta think there is some incompetence there if the referenced study is correct?

After all, on average, aren’t we all average?

Here is the reference, since the Google is apparently a bit challenging for you;

Influenza Vaccine Effectiveness Among Children 6 to 59 Months of Age During 2 Influenza Seasons. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2008;162(10):943-951.

And here is a link where they explain the paper in small words.

http://tinyurl.com/bwnqnf

Basic results; in children, no measurable enhancement in resistance to the flu is produced by the flu shot. The authors suggest that this is due to the fact that ~half of the influenza on the loose on any given year is not covered. Other research has suggested that the shot itself results in a brief period of compromised immune function, which may explain why so many people get the flu after they get a flu shot; their guard is down.

Now, there is some promising work being done with nasal Flu vaccines; they might prove more effective. But between this recent study, and some older ones I’m too lazy to look up that showed similar results for adult populations, I’ve reached the conclusion that the flu shot is nothing more than an invasive and ineffective profit center. Another point; a vaccine for a virus that doesn’t change much, like Hep B or Whooping Cough, is effective. Because it doesn’t change much, and there aren’t hundreds of different strains going around. For a constantly changing virus’ like the flu, however, unless they can find a common protein that doesn’t change, it’s probably a waste of effort. And all of that is putting all incompetence/malevolence aside. . . .

I don’t like shots because I think I am invulnerable and don’t like to admit I am only mortal. As a result, all my emotions say not to get a flu shot but “science” says I should. My resolution would be therefore to submit to flu shots as a measure of faith. Yes, faith in science.

Now you come along as a priest in these objective activities and say flu shots don’t work==or they don’t work half the time, which is confusing.

Isn’t something working half the time better than nothing working all the time? Or do you mean even on the half time they “work” they don’t really work by way of some scientific reasoning reductio absurdum?

Are vaccines in general just a fraud, or only flu vaccines? Or only vaccines developed in the past 20 years, or just what is going on that vaccine development has gone off track?

Can you explain your devilish confusing post so we laymen can understand?

Funny monkeys. (Click on Patso name for an excellent video on we monkeys.)

Just don’t cough in my direction.

BTW… if a vaccine manufactur “accidently” poisons you Congress made sure you can’t sue them.

Nice.

But, really, first the Factor 5 scandal, then this? What is wrong with these European pharma companies? Is it that we didn’t arrest any of the Nazi’s that were running them after WWII? Or are they just being run by genocidal maniacs of some other brand of organized psychopathology?