Flu shots help less than thought

LONDON – A new analysis of 40 years of research provides more evidence that flu shots are not as effective in the elderly as commonly believed. But health officials said older people should still be vaccinated.

The research, done by an international collaboration of scientists known as the Cochrane Review Group, found the vaccine is only about 28 percent effective when given to people over 65. Older people are particularly vulnerable to influenza.

The findings are similar to those of a study done by U.S. National Institutes of Health .

However, the World Health Organization and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the findings, published today on the Web site of the Lancet medical journal, do not change their recommendation that elderly people get the shots.

In the study, researchers combined the results of 64 studies and concluded that flu shots reduced by 28 percent the chance of an elderly person ending up in a hospital with influenza or pneumonia. The results were better when the elderly people lived in nursing homes.