Each year enormous effort goes into producing influenza vaccines for that specific year and delivering them to appropriate sections of the population. Is this effort justified? Viral infections of the respiratory tract impose a high burden on society. In the last half of the 20th century, efforts to prevent or minimise their impact centred on the use of influenza vaccines. Each year enormous effort goes into producing that year's vaccine and delivering it to appropriate sections of the population. Duíscussion of policies on the use of inactivated vaccines for seasonal influenza; the evidence for their efficacy, effectiveness, and safety ("effects"); and possible reasons for the gap between policy and evidence

by Tom Jefferson.