Is swine flu vaccine worth it ?

The swine flu epidemic has created a huge scare, and some clever people are happy to capitalise on this ! Sales of masks and medications have shot up - and the next huge market is for vaccines. Lots of researchers and manufacturers are lining up to sell millions of dollars worth of vaccines to the Indian government . Health departments will most probably buy huge supplies because there's money to be made for everyone in these purchases - but this is likely to be money which is wasted.

After adjustment for other disease and frailty, vaccination reduced pneumonia rates by a nonsignificant 8% during the flu season and increased risk by 4% during season peaks, reported Michael L. Jackson, Ph.D., of the Group Health Center for Health Studies here, and colleagues in the Aug. 2 issue of The Lancet. These findings from a rigorously controlled case-control study of both inpatient and outpatient cases add to controversy over the true magnitude of the benefit from flu shots, the researchers said.