ACIP: Flu vaccine shot for everyone, every year/ LA Times

The LA Times reports that what I expected to occur has now happened. The CDC's ACIP used the swine flu pandemic to gin up flu anxiety and activity. They don't seem to care that Tamiflu was found to be an "Emperor's New Clothes" story, nor that the data to support vaccinating everyone (let alone the data to measure the risks) do not exist. ACIP prefers to forget that most Americans are perfectly healthy and are not at risk for severe flu complications. Nor that the theory about vaccinating school kids to protect their family members, especially granny, from flu is simply an unproven theory.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommended Wednesday that all Americans over the age of 6 months -- with the exception of those who are allergic to eggs -- should receive a seasonal flu shot every year, beginning this fall...

The CDC has been slowly broadening the recommendations for flu shots over the last few years to the point where about 85% of the population is now covered. The primary exception now is adults ages 19 to 49 who do not have underlying medical conditions. But the committee noted that many such adults do not realize they are at risk because of diabetes, hypertension or other hidden problems and do not seek the shots...