( ROCHESTER N.Y. May 02 2007 /PRNewsw...)Flu Vaccine Used Last Winter Seems to Have Been Less Effective Than,Vaccines Used in Previous Years,Health

ROCHESTER, N.Y., May 02, 2007 /PRNewswire/ -- A new Harris Poll suggests that the flu vaccine used before last winter may have been less effective than the vaccines used in some previous years. The adults who had flu shots before last winter were only 24 percent less likely to get the flu than those who were not vaccinated. The differences were larger in two previous Harris Polls on the same topic.(1) In the winters of 2003/2004 and 2004/2005 adults who were vaccinated were 33 percent and 43 percent less likely to have gotten the flu than those who were not.

These are some of the results of a nationwide Harris Poll of 2,563 U.S. adults surveyed online by Harris Interactive(R) between April 10 and 16, 2007.

All of these results should be treated with some caution. People's memories of whether they had flu shots may not be completely accurate. This is not a double-blind clinical trial, which is the gold standard for measuring the effectiveness of drugs. Furthermore, experts on the flu say that it is easy to confuse it with other infections, so some people who believe that they had the flu may not actually have had it. However, a large 71 percent majority of those who received flu shots and who believe they had the flu say they are certain they had it; but only just over a third (39%) visited a doctor who diagnosed the flu. The techniques used in this year's survey are the same as those used in previous years.

    The main findings of this survey include:


    - Approximately one-third (35%) of all adults claim to have had a flu shot

      before the winter of 2006/2007. This includes a much higher proportion

      (73%) of people aged 65 and over, who are regarded as more seriously at

      risk from the flu if they catch it;


    - Fifteen percent of all adults believe they had the flu, somewhat below

      the 18 percent and 21 percent who believe they had the flu in the

      winters of 2003/2004 (18%) and 2004/2005 (21%);


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