A recent study conducted at the Cleveland Clinic in the United States has sparked the interest of vaccine skeptics, raising questions and concerns about the safety of the flu vaccine.
A post on April 7 claimed, “Get the flu shot and you are 27% more likely to get the flu!” referring to a study published on April 4. This post has garnered attention and sparked discussions about the effectiveness of the flu vaccine.
Another post the following day called for all flu vaccines to be removed from the market until further safety and effectiveness studies are conducted. The study in question, titled “Effectiveness of the Influenza Vaccine During the 2024-2025 Respiratory Viral Season,” was published on a preprint server and cautioned that it was not yet peer-reviewed.
The study involved over 50,000 healthcare workers and found that vaccinated participants had a higher incidence of infection during the flu season. However, experts caution against drawing broad conclusions from this study, as the data only represents a specific population and may not reflect the general public.
While the effectiveness of flu vaccines can vary each year, they play a crucial role in preventing severe illness, hospitalization, and death from the flu. Experts emphasize that even when the vaccine does not prevent infection entirely, it can make the illness milder and reduce the risk of serious complications.
The study did not recommend removing the flu vaccine from the market, as it is still considered an important public health tool. Additionally, the study’s findings suggest that further research is needed to understand the full impact of the flu vaccine on different populations and in various seasons. Tentang 10.900 peserta memiliki pekerjaan keperawatan klinis, kata studi itu.
Pacetti dan Jeffrey Morris, direktur biostatistik di Universitas Perelman School of Medicine Pennsylvania, juga mengatakan vaksin pada dasarnya mengurangi risiko kematian atau penyakit parah, yang tidak dibahas oleh studi tersebut.
Artikel tersebut mengatakan efektivitas vaksin dalam setiap tahun tertentu “tergantung pada seberapa miripnya strain yang terkandung dalam vaksin dengan strain yang menyebabkan infeksi pada tahun tersebut”.
Penulis studi juga mengatakan karena hampir semua pesertanya menggunakan vaksin influenza inaktif trivalen, mungkin vaksin influenza lainnya lebih efektif.