Study questions efficacy of flu vaccine for elderly

NEW YORK A number of researchers have started having second thoughts about giving flu vaccines to elderly people, and last month, The Lancet published a study that questioned the evidenced used to support vaccines for the elderly.

The researchers who conducted the study said that instead of measuring protection against the flu, previous studies had measured the difference between people who received vaccines and people who didn’t.

The study found that healthy people concerned with their health were more likely to get a flu shot, while those who were unhealthy and frail were less likely.

The researchers, at the Group Health Center for Health Studies in Seattle, analyzed medical charts of several thousand elderly members of an H.M.O.