In June of 2016 the
Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Advisory Committee on
Immunization Practices (ACIP) admitted that the live attenuated nasal
influenza vaccine known as “FluMist” was not effective, and was not
recommended for the 2016-2017 flu season.
It was also not
recommended for the current flu season (2017-2018). The CDC’s own data
showed that the nasal vaccine was not effective. The CDC press release
in 2016 stated, “This three percent estimate means no protective benefit
could be measured.” Shortly after this announcement in 2016, a family
in Utah went public with their story, explaining how their 8-year old
daughter died from influenza, even though she had been vaccinated with
FluMist.
They had trusted the
CDC and their flu recommendations, but now they have lost their
daughter. Even though the CDC withdrew their recommendation for the
failed nasal flu vaccine, FluMist retained its FDA approval and has been
available to purchase the past two years. On February 21, 2018, the
CDC’s ACIP reversed its decision on FluMist, and voted 12-2 to add
FluMist to the CDC’s list of recommended vaccines for the 2018-2019
influenza season. Stat News reports how members of the ACIP expressed
concerns about deciding to reverse their decision and recommend it: “
The motion to
recommend FluMist passed by a surprising 12-to-2 vote, the outcome of
which belies the unease that a number of members of the committee
clearly felt about the decision they were making. They faced, in
essence, a Catch-22: It has been impossible to generate the type of data
that would normally be used to make a decision like this. The only way
to see if the problem has been solved is to use the vaccine. But without
an ACIP recommendation, the vaccine’s use in the U.S. would remain
minimal.”
So the fact is that
the effectiveness of FluMist is still not known, but the CDC has no
qualms about testing it on the American public to find out.
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