What a fvck up, we can spend gazillions @ War but can't give the elderly Flu Shots

[christof]

I think the most surprising thing in this thread, is that the people that seem to support the propaganda about the dangers of the flu lean to the "left".

The major winners in all of this are the pharmaceutical companies. Don't you hate them?

Well I guess Big Government gets the green too, and you like that. The CDC is wheels off on the propaganda machine. Check out their "advertising" plan:

http://www.ama-assn.org/ama1/pub/upload/mm/36/2004_flu_nowak.pdf

Highlights start on page 27 titled "Repcipe that Fosters Higher Interest and demand for Influenza Vaccine."

My favorites:

3. Medical experts and public health authoritiespublicly (e.g., via media) state concern and alarm (and predict dire outcomes)– and urge influenza vaccination.

4. The combination of ‘2’ and ‘3’ result in:
A. Significant media interest and attention
B. Framing of the flu season in terms that motivate behavior (e.g., as "very severe," "more severe than last or past years," "deadly")

5. Continued reports (e.g., from health officials and media) thatinfluenza is causing severe illness and/or affecting lots of people– helping foster the perception that many people are susceptible to a bad case of influenza.

6. Visible/tangible examples of the seriousness of the illness (e.g., pictures of children, families of those affected coming forward) and people getting vaccinated (the first to motivate, the latter to reinforce)

7. References to, and discussions, of pandemic influenza– along with continued reference to the importance of vaccination.

Sound familiar? They've done this every year for the last several years. CDC's official numbers show this flu season is very mild (13 child deaths) despite a vaccine "shortage".

 

[Woody0]

woody,
compare previous years deaths.

I was replying to "no-one drops dead due to the lack of a flu shot" and pointing out that the elderly were particularly susceptible and do die from the flu. Also having had a flu shot if they get the flu maybe the difference between a milder case and a more severe one leading to death.

This year has been a mild flu season and deaths are fewer than last year. The reason for fewer deaths this year is not due to reduced vaccation! If that were so, vaccination could be totally discontinued. Hence it is difficult to argue on the basis of year by year deaths because the data reflect many underlying parameters and are mostly used for detemining whether an epidemic outbreak is occurring.