Recent studies have shown that the flu vaccine as a whole is only about 59 percent effective at preventing the illness. NRP pointed out that the vaccine appears to be less effective for the elderly, which is a population often highly encouraged to receive the shot in the first place. (Source)
CDC does not know exactly how many people die from seasonal flu each year. There are several reasons for this. First, states are not required to report individual seasonal flu cases or deaths of people older than 18 years of age to CDC. Second, seasonal influenza is infrequently listed on death certificates of people who die from flu-related complications. Third, many seasonal flu-related deaths occur one or two weeks after a person’s initial infection, either because the person may develop a secondary bacterial co-infection (such as bacterial pneumonia) or because seasonal influenza can aggravate an existing chronic illness (such as congestive heart failure or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease). Also, most people who die from seasonal flu-related complications are not tested for flu, or they seek medical care later in their illness when seasonal influenza can no longer be detected from respiratory samples. (Source)
Overall, the study reported that 43% of children suffer from at least one of the 20 conditions considered—when obesity and developmental delays are not included. That is is over 32 million children whose health is damaged! (emphasis added)