The mortality benefits of giving elderly people the flu vaccine have been vastly overstated, according to a Review published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases, October edition. Vaccinating people over 65 against influenza in developed countries is aimed at reducing the flu mortality burden.
Dr Lone Simonsen, George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA and team say that vaccinating no-so-frail elderly people more frequently than their frail peers, plus the use of non-specific endpoints, such as all-cause mortality, are the reasons for this exaggeration.
"The remaining evidence base is currently insufficient to indicate the magnitude of the mortality benefit, if any, that elderly people derive from the vaccination program," say the authors.
Although placebo-controlled randomized trials have demonstrated that the flu vaccine is effective in younger adults, a small number of trials ever included the elderly, especially those aged over 70. About 75% of influenza related deaths occur among people aged 70 and over, point out the authors.
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