Record Vaccine Supply-Vote and Vax at the same time

[Kimmiepie]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26867534/

"It's a fact that the influenza vaccine saves lives," said Dr. Julie Gerberding, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Like I'd believe anything she has to say on the matter.

Flu kills about 36,000 Americans a year and leads to about 200,000 hospitalizations.

Is that a real statistic? Not being snarky...just unsure.

In addition to those people, the CDC this year for the first time is recommending that virtually every child age 6 months to 18 years be vaccinated, unless they have a serious egg allergy.

I'm confused? I thought studies showed it to be no better than a placebo under the age of 2 so how can they recommend this?

And a Robert Wood Johnson-funded program called Vote & Vax will offer vaccine at numerous polling places on Election Day.

Nice.

[Sileree]

Originally Posted by Kimmiepie

Is that a real statistic? Not being snarky... just unsure.

Nope.

That number was formulated using a computer model to estimate the number of deaths associated with influenza, which includes underlying respiratory and circulatory causes.

William Thompson of the CDC's National Immunization Program (NIP), and lead author of the CDC's 2003 Journal of the American Medical Association article, explained that an association does not imply an underlying cause of death: “Based on modelling, we think it's associated. I don't know that we would say that it's the underlying cause of death.”

Yet they seem in no hurry to correct the media from announcing this number at the amount of deaths CAUSED by the flu. :

According to the CDC's own National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), influenza and pneumonia took 62,034 lives in 2001, 61,777 of which were attributed to pneumonia and 257 to flu.

From: “Are U.S. Flu Death Figures More PR than Science?” British Medical Journal. 2005;331:1412.

[Kimmiepie]

According to the CDC's own National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), influenza and pneumonia took 62,034 lives in 2001, 61,777 of which were attributed to pneumonia and 257 to flu.

: Oh that is terrible. What a huge difference!! I'd like to post signs with that info all around the places offering vaccinations.