Dr. Weeks’ Comment: This is damning research indeed.
Clin Infect Dis. 2012 Jun 15; 54(12): 1778–1783. Published online 2012 Mar 15. doi: 10.1093/cid/cis307
Increased Risk of Noninfluenza Respiratory Virus Infections Associated With Receipt of Inactivated Influenza Vaccine
Abstract
Influenza vaccination is effective in preventing influenza virus infection and associated morbidity among school-aged children [1, 2]. The potential for temporary nonspecific immunity between respiratory viruses after an infection and consequent interference at the population level between epidemics of these viruses has been hypothesized, with limited empirical evidence to date, mainly from ecological studies [3–15]. We investigated the incidence of acute upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs) associated with virologically confirmed respiratory virus infections in a randomized controlled trial of influenza vaccination.
RESULTS
Among the 115 participants who were followed up, the median duration of follow-up was 272 days (interquartile range, 264–285 days), with no statistically significant differences in age, sex, household size, or duration of follow-up between TIV and placebo recipients (Table 1). We identified 134 ARI episodes, of which 49 met the more stringent FARI case definition. Illnesses occurred throughout the study period . There was no statistically significant difference in the risk of ARI or FARI between participants who received TIV and those who received placebo, either during winter or summer 2009 (Table 2).