Caught! The Flu Shot Hoax That Fooled Everyone

It was all over the news…

Good Morning America… ABC News… even FOX picked it up.

They all claimed that a new study out of Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston found that getting a high-dose flu shot decreased your Alzheimer’s risk by 20%.

Just roll up your sleeve, and watch all of those Alzheimer’s worries melt away…

The only problem?

This research isn’t worth the paper it’s printed on – and that 20% claim is nonsense.

The study has a major flaw that just about everyone skipped right over.

And trust me — when you see this, you will never trust the mainstream news for health information again.

First, a little background…

The study out of Mass General looked at health data for nearly 240,000 people, and claimed that getting a high-dose flu shot reduced Alzheimer’s risk by 20% (compared to a standard flu shot dose).

And if you saw this covered in the news, that was probably all you saw. The bold claim.

It was as if they didn’t read the rest of the research.

But I read it… and all the data and fancy claims fell apart fast.

First off, they only followed these folks for 25 months.

So, really, they were claiming the shot reduced your risk of developing Alzheimer’s over the next 25 months… NOT the rest of your life.

Not quite as exciting, right?

But, wait… it gets so much worse.

The researchers found you would have to inject 185 seniors with the high-dose flu vaccine to prevent a single case of Alzheimer’s.

That’s known as the “number needed to treat”… and, in this case, it was abysmal.

In other words, if you selected the high-dose flu vaccine for added Alzheimer’s protection, there’s a 184 out of 185 chance it would be of ABSOLUTELY NO BENEFIT TO YOU.

So instead of the headlines we got:

High-Dose Flu Vaccine Reduces Alzheimer’s Risk By 20%

Here’s the headline that should have run:

High-Dose Flu Shot Fails to Reduce Alzheimer’s Risk for Almost Everyone

But we sure didn’t get that second headline, did we?

So, how can both of these things be true? How can the high-dose flu shot allegedly reduce your risk by 20%, but basically help no one at the same time?

Well, if your risk of developing Alzheimer’s in the next 25 months was practically zero to begin with, an additional 20% reduction might sound meaningful… but it’s not.

The truth is, the odds of this working for you are much worse than the odds you’d get by betting your life savings at the craps or roulette table.

So, how does the media keep getting these stories wrong?

Well, first off, the drug companies are a major advertising category for media outlets. And these guys know where their bread is buttered.

Second, and even more disturbing, a lot of these reporters have no idea what they’re talking about.

I’m not kidding… Previous research has shown that many reporters covering health have no background in science and admit they struggle to understand research.

So they just end up reporting glowing press releases from universities, nonprofits, and hospitals trying to make their research sound more important than it is.

Lucky for you, I actually read – and understand – the research. And in this case, I can promise you… it was much ado about nothing.

In Your Corner,

Dr. Allan Spreen

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Sources:

• CBS News Chicago. (2026). Older adults with high-dose flu shot had lower risk of Alzheimer’s, study shows (Health Watch). Retrieved April 14, 2026, from https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/video/older-adults-with-high-dose-flu-shot-had-lower-risk-of-alzheimers-study-shows-health-watch/
• Fox News. (2026). Common vaccine slashes Alzheimer’s disease risk when dose increased. Retrieved April 14, 2026, from https://www.foxnews.com/health/common-vaccine-slashes-alzheimers-disease-risk-when-dose-increased
• Good Morning America. (2026). High-dose flu shot may lower Alzheimer’s risk [Video]. Retrieved April 14, 2026, from https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/amp/video/131966876
• Larsson, A., Oxman, A. D., Carling, C., & Herrin, J. (2003). Medical messages in the media—Barriers and solutions to improving medical journalism. Health Expectations, 6(4), 323–331. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1369-7625.2003.00228.x
• MedPage Today. (2026, April). High-dose flu vaccine tied to lower Alzheimer’s risk. Retrieved April 14, 2026, from https://www.medpagetoday.com/neurology/alzheimersdisease/120668