A new Canadian-led study concludes that immunizing nursing-home workers does nothing to cut the number of confirmed influenza cases among the homes' elderly residents.
Coming at the end of the largest flu-vaccination campaign in Canadian history, the review of previous studies calls for stepped-up research into alternative, lower-tech ways to combat the virus, such as improved hand washing.
The new paper's co-author is Dr. Tom Jefferson, a British epidemiologist who heads vaccine research for the respected Cochrane Collaboration -- and who has earned a reputation as a scientific dissident for his outspoken criticism of flu vaccination. In media interviews last year, Dr. Jefferson was quoted as saying he "can't see any reason" for vaccinating anyone against flu -- arguing the shots did nothing to save lives -- and that most influenza-vaccine studies are "rubbish."