It has been known for some time that flu shots would be beneficial. But it was not known until now whether in larger field studies people who are 65 years or older would benefit significantly and to what degree from yearly influenza vaccinations (“flu shots”).
The April 3rd, 2003 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine published the answer to this question. Dr. Nichol from the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, and his collegues have followed 140,055 patients of whom 55.5% were vaccinated against the flu in the 1998/1999 flu season.
They also followed 146,328 subjects during the 1999-2000 flu season of whom 59.7% were vaccinated against the flu. Below is a breakdown how they fared when compared to non-immunized controls (see table).
Flu Shots Prevent Heart Disease, Lung Disease, Strokes And Deaths
The examiners of this study concluded that high risk patients (asthma patients, patients with diabetes, cancer, elderly patients, arthritic patients and patients with high blood pressure) should have a yearly Flu vaccination.
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| Complications: | Observation: |
Comments: |
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| Heart disease: | reduced 19% | this included heart failure and heart attacks | ||
| Hospitalization for stroke: | reduced 16% to 23% | often hospitalization for stroke patients can be weeks and months, often resulting in other complications due to bacterial superinfections, falls or clots | ||
| Pneumonia and influenza rate: |
reduced 29% to 32% |
this can lead to heart attacks and deaths from bacteria in the blood | ||
| Death rates: | reduced 48% to 50% | all of the deadly complications from getting the Flu remarkably reduced by Flu shots! | ||
However, in my opinion anybody would benefit from regular Flu vaccinations as this boosts the immune system in general protecting against other infections and colds as well.
Here is a link to a chapter on the flu in Net Health Book.
Last edited October 25, 2014
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