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"Flu nasal spray protects children: study"


CBC.CA

Source: CBC.CA

Published: 17 Feb 2022

Category: Pharmaceutical

Rating: (2½ stars)

what they said (Hover the mouse cursor over underlined words for more info)

A nasal-spray version of the flu vaccine protects some young children better than flu shots, according to a study partially funded by the spray's manufacturer.
Since children get the flu twice as often as adults, and babies and the elderly are at highest risk of dying from complications of influenza, the study was designed to provide information on a vulnerable age group.
Robert Belshe, of the Saint Louis University School of Medicine in Missouri, and colleagues compared the two types of vaccines on 8,400 preschoolers in 16 countries during the 2004-2005 flu season...

The original article can be found at: http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2007/02/15/flu-vaccine-kids.html

how did it rate? (more information)

Criteria Rating
Total Score 5 of 10
Availability of Treatment Satisfactory (?)
Novelty of Treatment Satisfactory (?)
Disease Mongering Satisfactory (?)
Treatment Options Not Satisfactory (?)
Costs of Treatment Not Satisfactory (?)
Evidence Satisfactory (?)
Quantification of Benefits of Treatment Satisfactory (?)
Harms of Treatment Not Satisfactory (?)
Sources of Information Not Satisfactory (?)
Relies on Press Release Not Applicable
Quantification of Harms of Treatment Not Satisfactory (?)

what we said (Hover the mouse cursor over underlined words for more info)

This story wisely included a summary of an important commentary which accompanied the study. The commentary states that "it is impossible to tell whether the vaccines offer more protection than no vaccine", and that "safety data needs to be reviewed carefully by regulators before they consider approving it for use in children under five." Unfortunately, however, these two key pieces of information weren't presented until the very end of the story.

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