Despite President Biden’s recent admission that the COVID-19 pandemic is over, the White House is making another big push to encourage Americans to get yet another COVID booster shot. This time, the Biden administration is marketing the COVID Bivalent versions of messenger RNA (mRNA) Comirnaty and Spikevax biologics developed by Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna/NIAID respectively.1 2 […]
In an interim report published on Mar. 11, 2022, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates the effectiveness rate of the influenza vaccine at 16 percent during 2021-2022. The rate, which the CDC termed as “not statistically significant,” is based on a study involving 3,636 children, adolescents and adults in the United […]
Story Highlights More than 80 people have died in South Korea following influenza vaccination. After an investigation into the safety of the vaccines, South Korean health authorities ruled the deaths as “coincidental.” The public health agency in South Korea has decided to continue and promote its free influenza vaccine program despite public anxiety relating to […]
Opinion | Ever since the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) began recommending that all Americans six months of age and older get an annual flu shot, it’s been touted as the best method of preventing influenza. While it’s true that influenza is a highly infectious airborne disease, controversy exists over the use […]
His story starts in the same place it almost ended, a hospital where doctors treated him for pneumonia in 2014. When I was being discharged, the nurse said, oh, hey, by the way, you need a flu shot. He says that flu shot nearly killed him, causing Guillain-Barré Syndrome. The pain was just massive. A […]
Every year, millions of people receive vaccines. These vaccinations are designed to keep people healthy. But sometimes things go wrong, and when that happens patients can only seek recourse at what’s known as Vaccine Court—a government program run by the Department of Health that compensates the injured. … If you’ve never heard of Vaccine Court, […]
Story Highlights Hundreds of health care workers in Massachusetts are declining the annual flu shot. Health care worker flu shot requirements vary from state to state. A recent study questions the scientific validity of mandating annual influenza vaccinations for hospital workers. Hundreds of health care workers in Massachusetts, including those in nursing homes and kidney […]
Every year, millions of people receive vaccines. These vaccinations are designed to keep people healthy. But sometimes things go wrong, and when that happens patients can only seek recourse at what’s known as Vaccine Court—a government program run by the Department of Health that compensates the injured. … If you’ve never heard of Vaccine Court, […]
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a supplemental Biologics License Application (BLA) for the Fluzone high-dose quadrivalent influenza vaccine for use by adults 65 years of age and older. Fluzone is manufactured by Sanofi Pasteur, Inc. of France.1 2 The Fluzone high-dose influenza vaccine was approved by the FDA in 2009 as […]
Just as publicity about the need for everyone to get a flu shot ramps up, there are signs that the influenza vaccine for this “flu season” (2019-2020) may be even less effective this year than last year. The strains of the influenza virus selected by the World Health Organization (WHO) and U.S. health officials for […]