# 5923
My thanks to Crof for picking up on a short posting by Dr. Jody Lanard on the CDC’s recent unveiling of flu vaccine efficacy numbers.
As most of my readers know, flu vaccine effectiveness studies have been all over the map in recent years, with some showing remarkably high levels of protection while others have returned less encouraging numbers.
For years the CDC’s mantra has been for healthy adults under the age of 65, in years when the vaccine is a good match to circulating strains, effectiveness ranges from 70%-90%.
Of course, if you don’t fall into this `ideal’ cohort, or if the virus drifts away from the vaccine strain, your mileage may vary.
Sometimes, considerably.
Which is something we’ve addressed numerous times in this space, including:
Study: Obesity, Influenza & Immunity
Recently the CDC updated their FAQ on Flu Vaccine effectiveness, and as part of a much longer detailed posting, lowered the estimate of the inactivated flu shot’s effectiveness to read:
. . . recent RCTs of inactivated influenza vaccine among adults under 65 years of age have estimated 50-70% vaccine efficacy during seasons in which the vaccines' influenza A components were well matched to circulating influenza A viruses.
Dr. Jody Lanard, who along with her husband Peter Sandman, are considered among the most authoritative in the world on the subject of risk communications, has posted a brief commentary on the way this revised information has been rolled out by the CDC.
Highly recommended.
Follow the link to read:
Brief analysis of a risk communication error:
The CDC reports its newest estimate of influenza vaccine efficacy: 50-70% in healthy adults under 65
By Jody Lanard M.D. (posted on October 25 2011, 1:30 pm EDT)
Between Sandman and Lanard, they produce a wealth of invaluable risk management advice freely available on their website:
For anyone even remotely involved as a spokesperson for an agency, organization, or company during a crisis, this site should be viewed as essential reading.
Over the years I’ve been happy to feature their writings a number of times, including here, here, and here.
For more, simply do a blog search on `Sandman’.
