The flu vaccine is recommended annually for all Americans of 6 months or more, by centers for disease control and prevention, but a new study of the Cleveland clinic suggests that it might not have the protective effects that people expect.
The Preprimpression Study, which was published on Medrxiv.org this week, analyzed the infection data for the 2024-2025 flu season.
The researchers found that among the 53,402 employees of the Cleveland Clinic in northern Ohio, obtaining the influenza vaccine was associated with a 27% increase in flu infections.
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The vaccinated employees were compared to those who did not obtain the vaccine for a period of 25 weeks.
The flu vaccine is recommended annually for all Americans of 6 months or more, by centers for disease control and prevention. (Joe Raedle/Getty images)
“This study found that the influenza vaccination of adults of working age was associated with a higher risk of influenza during the 2024-2025 respiratory viral season, which suggests that the vaccine has not been effective in preventing influenza this season,” the researchers wrote in the study.
Although a previous work of these researchers on the effectiveness of the vaccine has been published in the main magazines, this most recent study is still in the prior stage to print, which means that it has not yet been reviewed by peers.
Potential limitations
The researchers noticed several limitations of the study, including the “trivalent inactivated influenza vaccine” in approximately 99% of employees included.
“The possibility that other influenza vaccines could have been more effective cannot be excluded,” they wrote.
It is also possible that home test kits have lost some infections.
“This study found that the influenza vaccination of adults of working age was associated with a higher risk of influenza during the 2024-2025 respiratory viral season, which suggests that the vaccine has not been effective in preventing influenza this season,” the researchers wrote in the study. (Istock)
In addition, the study did not compare the risk of hospitalizations or deaths related to the flu, nor did it measure whether the vaccine decreased the severity of the disease.
“Our study of medical care personnel did not include children or a few elderly subjects, and mainly consisted of healthy individuals to be employed,” the researchers wrote. “It was expected that a minority had been severely immunocompromised.”
Doctors weigh
Dr. Marc Siegel, Clinical Professor of Medicine at Nyu Langone Health and Fox News Senior Medical Analyst, reviewed the study findings and said the results are “deceitful.”
“It is observational, so it does not prove that the vaccine does not decrease the propagation,” Digital told Fox News.
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“The greatest bias is that it is comparing vaccinated health workers (80% vaccinate against the flu) with the general tendencies of the population, since the study does not take into account that health workers are more likely to be exposed to the flu in their profession, so we would expect the infection rate to be greater, whether vaccinated or not.”
Siegel also said that he believes that the study misuses the word “effectiveness.”
The study did not compare the risk of hospitalizations or deaths related to the flu, nor did it measure whether the vaccine decreased the severity of the disease. (Istock)
“The flu vaccine is intended to reduce gravity instead of decreasing propagation,” he said.
“The real criteria for the effectiveness of the flu vaccine is the hospitalization rate or visit to the office of an urgent doctor or care, which generally decreases more than 100,000 per year or more due to the vaccine.”
“The flu vaccine is intended to reduce gravity instead of decreasing spread.”
This effectiveness varies from year after year depending on how well the vaccine fits the predominant strain, the doctor added.
“At the same time, the flu vaccine tends to reduce viral load, which should reduce general spread within a community.”
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Dr. Jacob Glanville, CEO of Centivax, a Biotechnology Company of San Francisco, echoed that the study has not yet undergone a peer review.
“We must expect that process, since it will serve to verify the statistical methods and other design considerations of the study,” Digital’s Fox News told Fox.
“I still tell my patients that a benefit of receiving the flu vaccine is that, although you can get the flu, your case may not be as serious as those who did not receive the flu vaccine,” said a doctor. (Istock)
“For example, it would be important to rule out the avoidance of the reports of the employees of the Cleveland Clinic not vaccinated. Did they have any policy that discouraged not vaccinated subjects to inform diseases?”
“The entire world is affected by influenza, so if this phenomenon is real, it must also be easily supported by other studies of this season.”
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Dr. Mike Sevilla, a family doctor based in Salem, Ohio, agreed that the highest infection rate suggests that this year’s influenza vaccine was not as effective as expected.
“I would not think that this is expected. However, when comparing previous years, the effectiveness of the annual flu vaccine can vary widely, from approximately 10% to approximately 60%,” he said in an interview with Fox News Digital.
“The effectiveness of the annual flu vaccine can vary widely, from approximately 10% to approximately 60%.”
Seville shared that in his office, he did see greater cases of influenza this season, but not necessarily as severe cases.
“I still tell my patients that a benefit of receiving the flu vaccine is that, although you can get the flu, your case may not be as serious as those who did not receive the flu vaccine,” he said.
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“If you have any questions about vaccines, you can always ask your family doctor.”
Fox News Digital communicated with the researchers of the Cleveland Clinic to comment.
