PUBMED: "Efficacy and effectiveness of influenza vaccines"

I just did a PUBMED search with the phrase "Efficacy and effectiveness of influenza vaccines" and...

561 references!

Why stop with just this one study? Plus - It's a "meta-analysis" which is the absolute weakest kind of study. The meta-analysis attempts to gather together and glean some sort of meaningful analysis from any kind of study. These studies may be “Apples to Oranges” comparisons, have variable quality or have a veritable quagmire of differing methodologies. Even a “good” meta-analysis of poorly designed and interpreted studies will still result in bad statistics. Quite unlike high quality individual studies, the meta-analysis can never follow the rules of hard science

Weaknesses include:

- Shared subjectivity instead of objectivity
- They can never be double-blind or controlled,
- Sources of bias are not controlled by the method
- Dangers of applying an “Agenda Driven Bias”

From an integrity perspective, researchers with a bias should strive to avoid meta-analysis and use a more independent form of research to retain credibility.