The 2017–2018 Influenza Vaccine Wasn’t Only 10% Effective: Why Did Mainstream Media Lead the Public Astray?
Georg Christoph Lichtenberg, the famed polymath and physicist once wrote:
“the most dangerous untruths are truths moderately distorted.”
The spread of myths and half-truths about this year’s flu vaccine is just such a tragedy, and it began, as far as I can tell, in early November of 2017.
The year was wrapping to a close, and as the march towards January began, the specter first emerged. “This year’s flu vaccine may only be 10% effective, experts warn” was plastered across the front page of CBS News. CNN declared that “Flu season is here, and experts are already concerned.”
The pitch and tempo began to escalate as 2018 rolled around. Quartz Media published an article with the headline “This winter’s awful flu season was made worse by a wildly ineffective vaccine” and TIME magazine wrote that “This Year’s Flu Virus Could Be Worse Than Usual — And the Vaccine May Not Help.” Media fanned the flames as public speculation ran rampant. Was the flu vaccine worth getting? Was it safe? Outright dangerous pieces began to appear, such as an article in the Huffington Post titled simply “FLU VACCINE 10% EFFECTIVE,” which outright advocated against influenza vaccination. And what makes it worse is that much of this wild-eyed grasping for the truth was founded on a simple misunderstanding: