Again, they’re trying to convince us that the flu shot protects the heart — pure fantasy!

Flu shot sales must not be hitting their projections.

But you can’t say The New York Times isn’t doing its part to provide free advertising.

The Times website ran this headline last week: “Flu Shots Tied to Heart Benefits.”

Ugh! Please, do NOT buy this nonsense!

Last month I told you about the study where numbers were juggled to make it seem as if the flu shot miraculously prevented heart attacks. It was junk research. But it sure made some impressive headlines.

Now, this new study claims a lower risk of cardio deaths when people with heart disease get flu shots. It’s not placebo-controlled, of course. It’s an “analysis” of data from five different heart studies.

One shill — er — researcher told the Times, “Maybe this is a good enough reason for the skeptics to go and get their flu shots.”

You know what I like? I like the old days when RESEARCHERS were the skeptics. Back then they insisted on rigorous proof and didn’t use a condescending tone to dismiss skeptics.

Anyway…NO! It’s NOT a good enough reason! There is no basis to jump from that result to this half-baked idea that you’ll dodge a heart attack with a flu shot.

And here’s the tipoff that all this “research” belongs in the circular file…

If there were ANY solid evidence that this heart attack prevention fantasy were true, they would instantly rename the flu shot. And then the CDC would be hawking the miracle Heart Attack Vaccine year-round.

Sources:
“Flu Shots Tied to Heart Benefits” Nicholas Bakalar, The New York Times, 10/22/13, well.blogs.nytimes.com