I am not arguing that the flu is the same as coronavirus, or that coronavirus is not much more dangerous at this time. I found this article when I was trying to found out how many deaths are saved by the flu vaccines; didn't find that, yet. Nevertheless, note the following, from a 12/19 NPR article:
1. "The vaccine's ability to prevent flu cases last year hovered around 44 percent overall; it was about 59 percent effective in young children and just 16 percent in adults over 65. But even that low number for older adults elides how much death and disability the vaccine prevented.
"Effectiveness" only refers to the ability of the vaccine to prevent illness, and the vaccine does so much more than that," says Dr. LJ Tan, chief strategy officer for the nonprofit Immunization Action Coalition, based in St. Paul, Minn."
2. [Sound familiar?]
"In older adults, the flu shot prevents the loss of quality of life that can result from influenza complications, Tan says. That protection is also important for people with chronic conditions beyond heart disease, such as diabetes, asthma, and lung or liver disease. Doctors say flu shots are also indicated for patients with suppressed immune systems and for most people who have an autoimmune condition."
3. "The past two years have been the worst, in terms of flu cases and complications, in the past decade. An estimated 37 million to 43 million Americans had flu last season, resulting in as many as 647,000 hospitalizations and as many as 61,200 deaths. Preliminary numbers from 2017 to 2018 are similar: 45 million infections, 810,000 hospitalizations and 61,000 deaths."
4. "But here's the rest of the story: Even if you do catch the flu despite having been vaccinated, "your illness is very likely to be less severe" than if you had skipped the shot, Schaffner says. "It's more likely to be shorter, and you're much less likely to get the complications of pneumonia, being hospitalized and dying."
5. [I wonder if the coming C-19 vaccines will be 100% effective, or much less effective like the flu vaccines are. I suppose that may depend on weather the C-19 mutates/changes every year.]
https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2019/12/20/784608400/do-you-really-need-a-flu-shot-heres-how-to-decide
1. "The vaccine's ability to prevent flu cases last year hovered around 44 percent overall; it was about 59 percent effective in young children and just 16 percent in adults over 65. But even that low number for older adults elides how much death and disability the vaccine prevented.
"Effectiveness" only refers to the ability of the vaccine to prevent illness, and the vaccine does so much more than that," says Dr. LJ Tan, chief strategy officer for the nonprofit Immunization Action Coalition, based in St. Paul, Minn."
2. [Sound familiar?]
"In older adults, the flu shot prevents the loss of quality of life that can result from influenza complications, Tan says. That protection is also important for people with chronic conditions beyond heart disease, such as diabetes, asthma, and lung or liver disease. Doctors say flu shots are also indicated for patients with suppressed immune systems and for most people who have an autoimmune condition."
3. "The past two years have been the worst, in terms of flu cases and complications, in the past decade. An estimated 37 million to 43 million Americans had flu last season, resulting in as many as 647,000 hospitalizations and as many as 61,200 deaths. Preliminary numbers from 2017 to 2018 are similar: 45 million infections, 810,000 hospitalizations and 61,000 deaths."
4. "But here's the rest of the story: Even if you do catch the flu despite having been vaccinated, "your illness is very likely to be less severe" than if you had skipped the shot, Schaffner says. "It's more likely to be shorter, and you're much less likely to get the complications of pneumonia, being hospitalized and dying."
5. [I wonder if the coming C-19 vaccines will be 100% effective, or much less effective like the flu vaccines are. I suppose that may depend on weather the C-19 mutates/changes every year.]
https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2019/12/20/784608400/do-you-really-need-a-flu-shot-heres-how-to-decide