FDA to require the flu vaccine prove its effectiveness at reducing the flu

Never had a flu vaccine in my life.

Do not get the people that do.

THIS is what I voted for and why I was thrilled with the RFK, Jr. pick by Trump.

I started getting the flu vaccine two or three years ago. It made sense to me.
Years of experience establishes its safety and effectiveness.

Yeah, a real distinction gets lost in OP’s headline. studies get done every year looking at whether vaccinated people actually get less lab-confirmed flu.

FDA sometimes allows for licensing flu vaccines using the antibody response as a surrogate for protection rather than requiring every vaccine to first run a trial showing fewer actual flu cases. So “should FDA require clinical outcomes instead of relying on that surrogate” is fair, but that’s pretty different from “until now nobody required evidence that flu vaccines actually reduce flu”.

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Never had a flu vaccine in my life.

Do not get the people that do.

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Noted that you didn't say, "I've never had the flu."

You do you, but two years ago I said "frick it" and didn't get a flue shot. Of course, I got it and it kicked my arse for two weeks. Last year, got the shot early and went through winter with barely a sniffle while everyone around me that didn't (my wife, my daughter, my son) all got it. I live in the same house with my wife and my son got it while he was home on winter break from college. I had the shot and was never infected by them. Anecdotal, sure, but my experience is different, I suppose, than yours, since you didn't lie, er, state what your outcomes have been.

I stopped getting the flu shots years ago because it always put me in the sick bed for almost a week with flu-like symptoms.

Along with that, the shots are generally pharma's best guess as to which strain will be predominant in the upcoming season and sometimes they get it completely wrong (thus people are getting the shots for essentially no reason).

For me, this all adds up to a choice between a 100% chance of getting sick with flu-like symptoms or a somewhat lesser chance (and if I choose wrong then I just go get the appropriate shot).

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I started getting the flu vaccine two or three years ago. It made sense to me.
Years of experience establishes its safety and effectiveness.

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Were you getting the flu every year or every other year?

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Ok, so this makes me wonder how much gov money goes into the research for these vaccines.
As we all know, Pharma loves their research grants.
I don't see anything wrong in making sure you're getting what you pay for.

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They should have proved effectiveness from the beginning but none of the childhood vax were ever tested on humans...RFKjr finally got them to admit that. Every single drug should be proved before it's allowed on the market but they haven't been as they should.

The abstract for the review of flu vaccine effectiveness for '25-26 season:

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In the United States, annual influenza vaccination has been recommended for all persons aged =6 months, including during the 2025–26 season. Interim influenza vaccine effectiveness (VE) estimates were calculated for patients with acute respiratory illness–associated outpatient visits and hospitalizations from three U.S. respiratory virus VE networks during the 2025–26 influenza season, using a test-negative case-control design. Among children and adolescents aged <18 years, VE was 38%–41% against influenza outpatient visits and 41% against influenza-associated hospitalization. Among adults aged =18 years, VE was 22%–34% against influenza outpatient visits and 30% against influenza-associated hospitalization. Among children and adolescents, VE against influenza A ranged from 37% (against outpatient visits) to 42% (against hospitalization) across settings; among adults, VE against influenza A ranged from 30% (against hospitalization) to 34% (against outpatient visits) across settings. Among children and adolescents, VE against influenza A(H3N2)–associated outpatient visits was 35% and against influenza A(H3N2)–associated hospitalization was 38%. VE against influenza B outpatient visits ranged from 45%–71% among children and adolescents and was 63% among adults. Other estimates of VE were not statistically significant or were not reportable. Although interim influenza VE is lower during the 2025–26 influenza season than it was during recent influenza seasons, these findings demonstrate that influenza vaccination still provides protection against influenza. CDC recommends influenza vaccination; U.S. influenza vaccines remain available for persons aged =6 months.

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I contracted the flu when I was 20, it fricking sucked. Iv'e taken the flu shot for 40 years now. No problems.

To each his own.