Little evidence indicates flu vaccine works for elderly people

A recent comprehensive review of clinical trials suggests that there has been LITTLE evidence to demonstrate the flu vaccines used in the past 40 years are safe to use to prevent flu effectively in people aged 65 years and over.
 
Ironically, elderly people are among the most vulnerable and they are in the priority group to receive flu vaccine as the medical industry and government health agencies keep telling them that flu vaccine is the best preventative against flu.
 
Tom Jefferson of the Cochrane Collaboration in Rome, Italy and colleagues conducted a thorough search of studies based on previous vaccine trials.   Of the 75 studies reviewed, the researchers were able to identify only one recent randomized controlled trial with "real" outcomes.  All the other studies in the review except one were considered of low quality and open to bias, Wiley-Blackwell, the journal publisher says in a press release.
 
Often times, the outcome of a clinical flu vaccine trial is flu antibodies in the recipients' blood, not incidence of the virus in study population compared to that of the controls.  Just because you get antibodies does not always mean you would not get infected with flu virus.
 
Jefferson was cited as saying "until we have all available evidence, it is hard to reach any clear conclusions about the effectiveness of influenza vaccines in older people."
 
A health observer commented in response to the review that it would be stupid for drug companies to consider the flu incidence the outcome of any trial. It's common sense that it is easier to generate some antibodies than to prevent flu.
 
Observations are abundant that many elderly people got the flu after receiving one or two shots of flu vaccine.  Still many believe low efficacy is better than nothing.  They are not to blame.  The CDC says even if a flu vaccine does not help prevent flu, it would help relieve flu symptoms.  Jefferson said "As the evidence is so scarce at the moment, we should be looking at other strategies to complement vaccinations. Some of these are very simple things like personal hygiene, and adequate food and water."
 
Many people may be too busy enjoying their lives to care about the effectiveness of the flu vaccine they receive. But for those who do care, something sounds better than flu vaccine:  Vitamin D could be one of the best on earth to help you prevent flu.
 
Two physicians, according to a newsletter published in 2009 by Vitamin D Council, reported in 2009 that adults using high doses of vitamin D rarely got flu including swine flu.  One physician in Wisconsin who works for a senior care center said only 2 in more than 300 residents got flu during a period compared to more than 100 in about 800 medical workers serving in the same facility who got a flu-like illness.  The difference is, the elderly residents are asked to take vitamin d supplements while the medical workers are not.
 
Another physician who works in Georgia reported that none of his patients who regularly check on their serum vitamin D levels and take supplementation got flu during the swine flu outbreak that hit five states at once, including Georgia.  This is compared to 10 percent of patients who see a physician in a nearby office.  The difference?  The physician who got many flu patients did not advise his patients to use high doses of vitamin D.
 
Dr. John Cannell, a vitamin D expert and director of Vitamin D Council suggests adults may use 4000 to 6000 IU of vitamin D daily.

By David Liu and editing by Denise Reynolds