False alarms 'deterring elderly from using flu vaccines'

(ANSA) - Rome, November 23 - The number of Italians using influenza vaccines has tumbled by 6% in as little as 5 years due to false alarms worrying the elderly, the Higher Health Institute said Monday.
    As many as 68.3% of people over the age of 65 had flu vaccines in the years 2005-2006 but only 55.4% did so in 2013-2014 and just 48.6% in 2014-2015.
    "The cause of the negative trend is due in part to false alarms linked to presumed damage to the vaccine or impurities present in some batches," said Walter Ricciardi, president of the Higher Health Institute." "None of these alarms have been confirmed. On the contrary there are several studies that show a protective effect of the vaccine, both for children aged from 6 months to 2 as well as in people at risk of complications".
    The vaccine also reduces the risk of heart attacks, as shown by experimental studies and observation carried out in different population groups, he added.