As I bask in the warm Autumn sunshine under a deep blue sky in Adelaide, I wonder when one of the worst droughts on record will end. With the maximum temperature some 10 degrees warmer than usual, I wonder when the cold wet winter weather will arrive.

I also wonder about getting the seasonal vaccines, for Covid and influenza, to protect against these winter wogs. The Federal Health Minister, Mark Butler, is encouraging Australians to be vaccinated against Covid and flu ‘to help protect themselves and their families’ as winter approaches.

My dilemma was compounded when I read a recent medical research paper on the effectiveness of the influenza vaccine during the 2024-25 northern hemisphere winter.

The research was conducted by the prestigious Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, USA. The study was large, involving over 53,000 employees. It tracked how many cases of influenza occurred among those who had received the influenza vaccine compared with unvaccinated staff.

I had to re-read the study to make sure I was understanding it correctly.  It found that the vaccinated group got the flu 27 per cent more often than the unvaccinated group.  Yes, the study found influenza vaccination was associated with a higher risk of influenza.

I have received the flu jab in previous years to protect myself against getting the flu. But this influenza vaccine has apparently done the opposite. It has, according to some, increased the risk of getting the flu.

What about the Covid vaccine? A similar study of the effectiveness of the Covid-19 vaccine, also by the world-renowned Cleveland Clinic, was published in 2023. It tracked how many people in the study group contracted Covid by the number of doses of the vaccine they had received.

The lowest rate of Covid was for the unvaccinated group. Those who received 1 dose had a higher rate of Covid and as the number of doses increased, the risk of being infected increased. The more doses of the vaccine, the more they succumb to infection.

Why might this be? I recall hearing a distinguished immunologist say that multiple doses of the same vaccine can lull the immune system. Then, when the virus strikes, the immune system may ignore the threat.

What are we to make of all this? These studies seem to be showing that, far from protecting against infection with Covid or influenza, these vaccines might be increasing the risk or at the very least, not helping. Having been vaccinated against Covid and influenza previously, I am now wondering about the wisdom of having the jabs again this year.

Dr David Phillips is a former research scientist and founder of FamilyVoice Australia.