Heather Bedard, C.H.E.
I have found that when researching various health interventions, starting with their history helps to give good insight into the decision I want to make. That's why, when talking about the Flu vaccine, we will begin with its history and then move on to other aspects such as efficacy and effects.
The flu vaccine began clinical trials in the 1930s in response to the 1918-1919 flu pandemic, which resulted in almost 50 million deaths. In 1942, researchers developed a bivalent vaccine (having two parts). This vaccine was said to protect against both the H1N1 strain (Influenza A) and the influenza B virus, which had just been discovered.
Unfortunately, at this time, it was still common practice to test new drugs on institutionalized patients without their consent. Right before the "flu season" in 1942, the Commission on Influenza tested its vaccine on 8,000 [psychiatric patients at both the Eloise Mental Hospital and Ypsilanti State Hospital. A man named Jonas Salk oversaw this process. You may be familiar with his name as he is the same man who some say created the first "effective" polio vaccine.
In 1945, Jonas Salk and Thomas Francis created the first inactivated flu vaccine. The U.S. Army supported them in this at the University of Michigan. Before being licensed for broader use, the vaccine was tested for safety and efficacy on the U.S. military. You'll find that the military is often used for this purpose, as receiving exemptions from the mandated use of vaccines is challenging.
Shortly after this, in 1947, researchers found that the vaccines were not effective against the flu strains that were circulating at the time. In response to this, the World Health Organization (WHO) established the Worldwide Influenza Center in 1948 followed by the Influenza Surveillance and Response System (GISRS) in 1952. The goal was to manufacture vaccines based on targeting the mutations for each year. Now the W.H.O. recommends which strains should be used for the yearly flu vaccine based on their predictions. More on that topic in a future article!
In 1957, the Asian flu epidemic took between 1-2 million lives.
Around 1964, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) decided it was time to look at the efficacy rates for the flu vaccine. What they found surprised them. They concluded that it was virtually useless and questioned whether or not they could justify continuing their immunization programs. However, nothing changed. Four years later in 1968, a randomized, double-blind trial performed by the CDC also concluded that the vaccine was useless. Did anything change as far as promotion of the flu vaccine programs? No.
Fears (operative word here is fears - not fact) of an epidemic of swine flu in 1976 resulted in a massive campaign to immunize as many Americans as they possibly could. The program used to roll this out was called the National Influenza Immunization Program (NIIP). The program went from one million vaccinations per week to four million vaccinations per week! Within two months of this program's roll-out, ten states had reported cases of Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS). This syndrome was linked to the vaccine. Within a few months, 500 cases were reported and 25 people had died.
Due to this realization, the NIIP confirmed that the risk of developing GBS within six weeks of flu vaccination was ten times higher than the previous risk.
While the program was discontinued in December 1976, it didn't stop the continual promotion of the flu vaccine.
Studies from 1992 to 1994 showed an increased risk of GBS following vaccination, proving that the previous findings were not a fluke.
In 2000 the CDC performed another placebo-controlled trial that showed that the flu vaccine was useless most years.
Just three years later, a live attenuated vaccine administered as a nasal spray was licensed for public use.
A recombinant DNA-based flu vaccine was approved in 2013, and as technology continues to evolve, so do the options for vaccine production, including the development of mRNA-based flu vaccines.
Whew! That was a lot of info. So there is your basic history of the flu vaccine. While the flu can be deadly for the elderly and immuno-compromised, your best bet for dealing with it, is adhering to a healthy eating pattern, reducing stress, getting enough sleep, and taking care of your body.
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Schonberger L, Bregman D, Sullivan-Bolyai J, et al. “Guillain-Barre syndrome following vaccination in the National Influenza Immunization Program, United States, 1976–1977.” Am J Epidemiol 1979; 110(5):105–23.
Geier M, Geier D, Zahalsky A. “Influenza vaccination and Guillain Barre syndrome small star, filled.” Clin Immunol 2003;107(2):116-21.
Eric A. Biondi, MD, MS; C. Andrew Aligne, MD, MPH “Flu Vaccine for All: A Critical Look at the Evidence.” Medscape December 21, 2015
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