Letter

Influenza vaccination: policy versus evidence

BMJ 2006; 333 doi: 10.1136/bmj.39024.451389.FA (Published 9 November 2006)
Cite this as: BMJ 2006;333:1020.1

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No gap between policy and evidence

  1. David S Fedson, retired physician1,
  2. Kristin L Nichol, professor of medicine2
  1. 101630 Sergy Haut, France dfedson@wanadoo.fr
  2. 2University of Minnesota

Jefferson believes that his systematic reviews show that influenza vaccines “have little or no effect on the effects measured.”1 He wonders why there is a gap between evidence and policy.

Jefferson identifies three reasons why his evidence contradicts policy.

Firstly, policy relies heavily on non-randomised studies. Yet his preference for randomised controlled trials is based on historical, pragmatic, and heuristic reasons and cannot be justified on epistemological …

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