01-05-2022, 09:47 PM
(01-04-2022, 12:34 AM)danbrotherston Wrote: FWIW...as a result of this pandemic, I'm much more aware of the harm caused by the flu. It kills (in the US, where the numbers I saw are from) tens of thousands of people including hundreds of children every year. I'm no longer satisfied with our public health response to the flu. Our flu vaccination programs should be much more widespread, and it's shocking to me that the flu vaccine isn't free everywhere in Canada.
I sort of agree with your opinion. The issue though is, with the flu vaccine, is efficacy in any given year. It doesn't always offer a hell of a lot of protection. My understanding of the vaccine is that it's made in advance of the flu season, but the cocktail isn't always right. When they predict the flu correctly, it's about 60% percent effective, but apparently in seniors it's less effective.
That said, the vaccine is a safer option (less risky) than not getting it, for 6 months and up. But thousands of people would still die, even if all were vaccinated. It's one of those diseases that we have learned to live with -- and that could very well happen with Covid.