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Sports November 26, 2015

On The 3rd Anniversary Of The Infamous 'Butt Fumble,' Mark Sanchez Gets The Start

Updated 3:30 p.m. ET: Eagles Lose To The Lions, 14-45

On Thanksgiving Day three years ago, Mark Sanchez, then quarterback for the New York Jets, fumbled the football after running into his own crouching lineman’s backside. The New England Patriots, en route to a 49-19 victory, scooped up the ball and ran it back for a touchdown.

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“Butt fumble,” perhaps the ultimate sports blooper, was born.

The #Eagles will start QB Mark Sanchez today vs the #Lions, per @AlbertBreer & me. Sam Bradford (concussion, shoulder) sits for another week

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) November 26, 2015

Sanchez finished out the 2012 season with the struggling Jets, missed the 2013 season with a shoulder injury and then signed with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2014. Until two weeks ago, he was the Eagles’ backup quarterback behind Sam Bradford. But with Bradford still out of commission due to a concussion and shoulder injury, Sanchez was once again at the helm when the Eagles faced the Detroit Lions today at 12:30 p.m. ET. He acquitted himself well, throwing for 2 touchdowns and completing 19 of 27 passes, though the Eagles were ultimately trounced 45-14.

Sanchez was also under center last season on Thanksgiving when the Eagles’ starting quarterback Nick Foles was injured. Sanchez played well — no butt fumbles, no regular fumbles — and led the team to a 33-10 win over the Dallas Cowboys.

And on Turkey Day back in 2010, Sanchez also got the win, helping the Jets beat the Cincinnati Bengals 26-10.

Sanchez is now 3-1 in his career on Thanksgiving.

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Health November 26, 2015

Many Health Co-Ops Fold, Others Survive Startup Struggles

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Rick and Letha Heitman, of Centennial, Colo., bought their health plan in 2015 through Colorado HealthOP, an insurance cooperative that will close at the end of the year. HealthOp’s CEO says the co-op was “blindsided” when some promised federal subsidies failed to materialize. John Daley/CPR News hide caption

toggle caption John Daley/CPR News

Thousands of Americans are again searching for health insurance after losing it for 2016. That’s partly because some large, low-cost insurers — health cooperatives, set up under the Affordable Care Act — are folding in a dozen states.

The startups were supposed to shake up the traditional marketplace by being member-owned and nonprofit. But it was tough to figure out how much to charge. Plans available through the co-ops tended to be priced low, and customers poured in.

Yet many of these new customers, it turned out, had costly medical conditions, so when co-ops had to start paying their bills, the math didn’t add up.

On top of that, co-ops were counting on a variety of funding streams from the federal government, and some of that money never materialized. Of the 23 health co-ops that opened in 22 states with the advent of Obamacare, just 11 are still in business.

The failure of one of these insurers, Colorado HealthOp, has hit Rick and Letha Heitman hard. The couple says that Colorado HealthOp, which is due to close at the end of the year, saved Rick’s life when he was diagnosed with an aggressive prostate cancer last spring.

“I owe them for taking care of me,” says Rick, who owns a construction business with his wife. “They helped me at a time when I needed it a lot.”

Now, about 80,000 people, including the Heitmans, are suddenly on the hunt for new insurance plans on Colorado’s exchange.

Co-ops Left Holding The Bag

Julia Hutchins, HealthOP’s CEO, says the co-op got walloped by the equivalent of a fast-moving tornado after the federal government said it wouldn’t be paying co-ops millions in subsidies that she and others expected.

“We were really blindsided by that,” Hutchins says. “We felt like we’d done our part in helping serve individuals who really need insurance, and now we’re the one left holding the bag.” HealthOp was on track to becoming profitable, she insists.

Linda Gorman, director of the Independence Institute, an advocacy group and think tank in Colorado, says the new co-ops were in over their heads.

“You shouldn’t go into business counting on federal subsidies,” Gorman says. “The notion that you should beat up on for-profit entities and then form these nonprofits and everything will be magically OK is unfortunate to begin with, and we’ve wasted a lot of taxpayer money on that. We’ve wasted two to three billion dollars on subsidies for these co-ops.”

But the HealthOP’s senior IT manager Helen Hadji, a Republican, says she blames conservatives in Congress for not authorizing the money needed to keep the cooperatives afloat.

“This is a federal failure,” Hadji says. “This is all a political battle to dismantle Obamacare.”

Colorado’s co-op captured 40 percent of the individual market on the state’s exchange. Now, as customers like Rick and Letha Heitman hunt for new insurance for 2016, they are facing higher prices.

The Heitmans paid about $500 a month last year for their co-op plan. For 2016 they’ll likely have to pay double or triple that to get health insurance that includes the doctors who are treating Rick’s cancer.

Slower Growth Was Key To A Connecticut Co-Op’s Success

In Connecticut, a different story is playing out. If Colorado saw an early surge in membership because of low prices, Connecticut’s co-op nearly priced itself out of the market in its first year, charging rates that were much higher than its competitors. For 2015, HealthyCT only got 3 percent of the state’s business under the Affordable Care Act.

“In that first year, the reason we had such low market share was that consumers — new to the industry, new to insurance — most of those individuals bought on price,” says Ken Lalime, who runs the co-op.

And starting the business was hard, Lalime says.

“Nobody’s built a new insurance company in the state of Connecticut in 30 years,” he says. “There’s no book that you pull off the shelf and say, ‘Let’s go do this.’ “

Lalime faced the same problem other co-ops faced nationally. He didn’t know who his customers would be, didn’t know whether they’d be sick or healthy and didn’t know how much to charge. In the end, his co-op charged too much.

However, even though that meant relatively few sign-ups in year one, the slow start actually helped. The co-op didn’t have a huge number of claims to pay immediately, and those that it did pay didn’t break the bank.

“Hindsight, yes, that didn’t hurt us — to be able to take it slowly,” Lalime says.

In year two, HealthyCT’s average premiums were more competitive — and the co-op went from a 3 percent share of the market to 18 percent. For 2016, its initial premium request came in high; it subsequently revised that number to be much lower, and the state overseers eventually announced that HealthyCT’s premiums will go up 7 percent.

Paul Lombardo, an actuary for the state of Connecticut, says the back-and-forth is an indicator that setting the price of premiums is still a bit of a gamble under the Affordable Care Act. These are still early days, he says. So few people signed up with HealthyCT in the beginning that the health co-op didn’t have enough information to guide its decisions about 2016 premiums.

“There wasn’t a lot of data to say, OK, we can use 2014 experience to project forward,” Lombardo explains.

For now, HealthyCT is holding its own.

“They’re in good standing,” Lombardo says. “The premium we think that we’re setting for 2016 — albeit a little bit higher than they wanted it to be on the revision — is appropriate. And we look to have them go through the full year — as any of our other health plans do in 2016.”

Enrollment for 2016 health insurance on the Affordable Care Act’s exchanges will continue until Jan. 31.

This story is part of NPR’s reporting partnership with Colorado Public Radio, WNPR and Kaiser Health News.

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Entertainment November 25, 2015

Today in Movie Culture: Doctors Diagnose 'Home Alone' Injuries, Quentin Tarantino Talks 70mm and More

Here are a bunch of little bites to satisfy your hunger for movie culture:

Classic Movie Injuries of the Day:

In honor of this month’s 25th anniversary of Home Alone, a bunch of doctors diagnosed Harry and Marv’s injuries inflicted by Kevin (via Devour):

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Animation Studio Tribute of the Day:

In honor of this month’s 20th anniversary of Toy Story, here’s a tribute to the past two decades of Pixar (via /Film):

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Cosplay of the Day:

Hayao Miyazaki cosplay is always wonderful, and this Princess Mononoke is no exception (via KamiKame):

Vintage Film of the Day:

George Melies‘s The Legend of Rip Van Winkle was released on this day all the way back in 1905. Watch it below.

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Film History Lesson of the Day:

In a new featurette, Quentin Tarantino and others give a little history of movie roadshows, 70mm and Ultra Panavision to prepare us for The Hateful Eight:

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Filmmaker in Historical Focus:

Explore the start of Woody Allen‘s half-century career as a filmmaker in comic strip form below. See the rest at Signature.

Video Essay of the Day:

Another filmmaker in focus, here’s a look at the movies of Paul Thomas Anderson in chronological order of their settings (via Filmmaker IQ):

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Supercut of the Day:

Burger Fiction has another supercut of improbably weapons in movies, including two that feature death by corn on the cob:

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Movie Comparison of the Day:

Since we’re all revisiting the Rocky movies in honor of Creed, Couch Tomato shows us how Rocky IV and Kick-Ass 2 are the same movie:

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Classic Trailer of the Day:

This week is actualy the 30th anniversary of the theatrical release of Rocky IV. Watch the original trailer for the blockbuster sequel starring Sylvester Stallone and Dolph Lundgren below.

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Send tips or follow us via Twitter:

and

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Sports November 25, 2015

Former NFL Great Frank Gifford Had CTE, Family Says

Frank Gifford attends the 19th Annual Broadcasting & Cable Hall of Fame Awards on Oct. 20, 2009, at The Waldorf-Astoria in New York City.

Frank Gifford attends the 19th Annual Broadcasting & Cable Hall of Fame Awards on Oct. 20, 2009, at The Waldorf-Astoria in New York City. Andy Kropa/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption Andy Kropa/Getty Images

The family of Hall of Fame running back Frank Gifford says signs of chronic traumatic encephalopathy were found in his brain after his death in August. The diagnosis, which can be made only after death, has been linked to the deaths of other famous football players, including Mike Webster, Junior Seau and Dave Duerson.

Gifford’s family said it hopes the announcement of the diagnosis leads to more research about head trauma in football, according to NBC News:

“We as a family made the difficult decision to have [Gifford’s] brain studied in hopes of contributing to the advancement of medical research concerning the link between football and traumatic brain injury.

“Our suspicions that he was suffering from the debilitating effects of head trauma were confirmed when a team of pathologists recently diagnosed his condition as that of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) — a progressive degenerative brain disease.”

After playing college football at the University of Southern California, Gifford played for the New York Giants from 1952 to 1964. He made the Pro Bowl in eight of his 12 NFL seasons. Gifford also went on to enjoy a successful career as a broadcaster. He married talk show host Kathie Lee Gifford in 1986.

The Gifford family’s CTE announcement comes days after concussions once again dominated NFL news. During Sunday’s game against the Baltimore Ravens, St. Louis Rams quarterback Case Keenum suffered a concussion when his head was slammed to the ground. Though he was visibly dazed and unable to stand up on his own after the hit, he was left in the game for the next two downs. The incident prompted an NFL investigation and a mandatory conference call with head athletic trainers from each team to review concussion protocols.

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Business November 25, 2015

Fine Brine From Appalachia: The Fancy Mountain Salt That Chefs Prize

Nancy Bruns, CEO of J.Q. Dickinson Salt-Works, gathers finished salt from an evaporation table in Malden, W.Va.
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Nancy Bruns, CEO of J.Q. Dickinson Salt-Works, gathers finished salt from an evaporation table in Malden, W.Va. Noah Adams for NPR hide caption

toggle caption Noah Adams for NPR

Thanksgiving feasts are always in need of something special.

Can a sprinkle of artisanal salt noticeably pump up the experience?

Let’s meet a new Appalachian salt-maker in West Virginia and find out.

J.Q. Dickinson Salt-Works is nestled in the Kanawha River Valley, just southeast of the capital city of Charleston in the small town of Malden (not to be confused with Maldon, a sea salt brand from the U.K.). It’s mostly pasture land, with cows nearby.

Amid the livestock, there’s a new, small — you could call it micro — salt works.

“This is our well, in the field over here. It goes down 350 feet,” Nancy Bruns, CEO of J.Q. Dickinson Salt-Works, says.

The wellhead is simple, white and about 2 feet high. It took a couple of weeks to drill, and then came the salty water.

“It did gush; it absolutely did gush. We went through a lot of fresh water on the way down. And we all had cups, we were tasting it on the way down, and I just said no, keep drilling, it’s not salty yet.”

She’s a seventh-generation descendant of salt workers who started the original J.Q. Dickinson Salt-Works in 1817. This is a revival of that company.

Finished salt crystals are spread out on an evaporation table before being raked and packaged.

Finished salt crystals are spread out on an evaporation table before being raked and packaged. Noah Adams for NPR hide caption

toggle caption Noah Adams for NPR

Long ago, when the mountains rose up, an ancient ocean went underground. But some of it stayed near the surface.

The pioneers needed salt and the meatpackers in Cincinnati did, too. There was only one choice: drill deep. Fifty companies did, burning timber and coal to evaporate the water. Slaves were brought in for much of the labor.

It was a big, noisy, extractive industry.

At the new Dickinson Salt-Works, an almost-worn-out electric pump is the only real industry. There are two large and peaceful greenhouses — here they call them sunhouses.

“It gets up to around 150 degrees here in the summer,” Megan Parker, the operations manager, says.

Parker is happy to be using sunlight instead of burning fossil fuels.

The salt water is stored in large trays lined with black polyethylene. You can see the beginning of white salt crystals — they’re in graceful, almost mystical patterns.

“It is magic. It’s my favorite part of the process, to see a bed that, like this on our right, that’s completely clear, clear liquid, and then the next day you come in and you start to see these beautiful crystals forming,” Bruns says.

A 3.5-ounce jar of finished salt from J.Q. Dickinson.

A 3.5-ounce jar of finished salt from J.Q. Dickinson. Noah Adams for NPR hide caption

toggle caption Noah Adams for NPR

Bruns uses a wooden rake to gather finished salt crystals into a pile. Her company will produce about 10,000 pounds this year to be dried, sorted, put in small jars and shipped out to top restaurants like The French Laundry in northern California, Husk in Charleston, S.C., and Woodberry Kitchen in Baltimore.

“I think of salt as like wine, so the minerality of our salt is different from the minerality of any other salt, kind of like a pinot noir grown in California is different from a pinot noir grown in France. Could be exactly the same vine but because of the earth that it’s grown in it gives you a different flavor,” Bruns says.

A suggestion from the expert salt-maker for your holiday feast?

Whisk up some dark caramel sauce, sprinkle away and approach cautiously with a small spoon.

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Health November 25, 2015

To Reduce Infant Deaths, Doctors Call For A Ban Of Crib Bumpers

Babies have suffocated after being trapped in padded crib bumpers, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

Babies have suffocated after being trapped in padded crib bumpers, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission. iStockphoto hide caption

toggle caption iStockphoto

Flip through a popular children’s furniture catalog and you’ll find baby cribs with bumpers — a padded piece of fabric that ties around the wooden slats, making the crib look cozy and cute. The problem, researchers say, is these bumpers can be deadly, because babies can get caught in the fabric and suffocate.

“They are dangerous; don’t use them,” says Dr. Bradley Thach, a professor emeritus of pediatrics at the Washington University School of Medicine. Thach was the author of a landmark study in 2007 that first documented crib bumper deaths. He says things have gotten worse since then.

Thach is one of the authors of a study, published Wednesday in The Journal of Pediatrics, that shows the number of deaths attributed to crib bumpers has increased significantly in recent years.

Using data reported to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, an independent federal regulatory agency that oversees consumer products, the study found that 23 babies died over a seven-year span between 2006 and 2012 from suffocation attributed to a crib bumper. That’s three times higher than the average number of deaths in the three previous seven-year time spans. In total 48 babies’ deaths were attributed to crib bumpers between 1985 and 2012. An additional 146 infants sustained injuries from the bumpers, including choking on the bumper ties or nearly suffocating.

“These deaths are entirely preventable,” says N.J. Scheers, the study’s lead author and former manager of the CPSC’s infant suffocation project. Babies either got their face caught in the bumper and couldn’t breathe or they got wedged between the bumper and something else in the crib. In all of these instances, Scheers says, “If there were no bumper, the baby would not have died.”

Bumpers were originally intended to stop babies from falling out of the crib; regulations now require the wooden slats to be narrower. Bumpers were also designed to prevent babies from bumping their heads or getting their arms and legs caught in the rails. But Scheers says a sleeping sack is a safer way to keep arms and legs safe, and a little bump on the head is not worth the risk of suffocation.

The American Academy of Pediatrics and the American SIDS Institute have both issued warnings about crib bumpers; they advise parents not to use them. But Scheers says when parents go to buy a crib, they see them decorated with bumpers and say, “if they are dangerous, why would the stores be selling them?”

The safest choice is a crib with no bumpers, pillows or quilts, according to the CPSC.

The safest choice is a crib with no bumpers, pillows or quilts, according to the CPSC. iStockphoto hide caption

toggle caption iStockphoto

In 2012, a voluntary industry standard was revised to decrease the thickness of the bumpers to 2 inches or less, with the hope that thinner bumpers would be less likely to cause suffocation. But this most recent study found that three deaths occurred with the thinner bumpers.

In 2011, Chicago became the first city in the country to ban the sale of crib bumpers. And in 2013, Maryland also banned the sale of crib bumpers with two exceptions: mesh or breathable bumpers made of thin fabric that allow air to pass through, and vertical bumpers that wrap around each individual crib rail. Scheers wants a similar ban nationwide, with the caution that mesh and vertical bumpers still need to be studied because there’s no data available to prove they are safe.

The CPSC is currently in the process of putting forward a recommendation on how crib bumpers should be regulated. In the meantime, it recommends that “Bare is Best” — the safest way for a baby to sleep is in a crib with nothing but a tightly fitted sheet.

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Entertainment November 25, 2015

First 'Captain America: Civil War' Trailer Breaks Out Black Panther

The character list for Captain America: Civil War looks like Marvel’s most ridiculous roster yet. Not only does it have Captain America, but it’s also bringing out Iron Man, Black Widow, Scarlet Witch, Ant-Man, Falcon, Hawkeye, Winter Soldier, War Machine, Baron Zemo, Vision, Black Panther, the new Spider-Man and surely some people we don’t even know about yet.

But even with that deep of a role call, one thing is clear from the first trailer for Civil War. This isn’t Avengers 2.5. This is still a Captain America movie through and through.

The trailer doesn’t show us every single person listed above, but it does offer our very first look at Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman) in all his glory. It also sets up the film’s premise without really giving much away. Cap wants to protect his friend Bucky Barnes, AKA the Winter Soldier. The government not only wants the Winter Soldier dead, but they also want all of the superheroes to be under their management. Cap disagrees and is willing to fight anyone, even a team lead by Iron Man, for the right of superheroes to do their thing without government oversight.

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One thing the trailer doesn’t make clear is where the allegiances will lay in the movie. Thanks to some concept art released by Jeremy Renner, we’ve got that covered.

Team Captain America

Hawkeye
Winter Soldier
Falcon
Scarlet Witch
Ant-Man

Team Iron Man

Black Widow
Black Panther
Vision
War Machine

Captain America: Civil War hits theaters on May 6, 2016.

Follow @PeterSHall Follow @MoviesDotCom

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Sports November 24, 2015

Golden State Warriors Are First Team To Begin NBA Season 16-0

The defending champion Golden State Warriors set the record for best start in NBA history at 16-0, as Stephen Curry had 24 points and nine assists in a 111-77 rout of the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night.

With their coach sidelined, the Warriors surpassed the 15-0 starts by the Washington Capitols of 1948-49 and 1993-94 Houston Rockets.

Confetti streamed down when the final buzzer sounded and Golden State’s players barely celebrated.

Kobe Bryant shot 1 of 14 for just four points, matching the worst-shooting performance of his career in a game where he had at least one basket. The Lakers dropped to 2-12 with the second-worst record in the NBA.

Draymond Green added 18 points, seven rebounds and five assists as the Warriors extended their franchise-record home winning streak to 27 games with coach Steve Kerr watching from behind the scenes while recovering from complications following two back surgeries.

Interim Luke Walton is leading the way, and it might have been a little sweeter to set the record against the Lakers franchise he helped win two titles.

Golden State became the sixth team in NBA history to win 20 consecutive regular-season games, a streak dating to last season. The Suns have the next shot at stopping this incredible start when the Warriors visit Phoenix on Friday night.

Curry only had to play 30 minutes, taking a seat for good with 6.5 seconds remaining in the third to huge cheers from a sellout crowd of 19,596 that was really closer to 20,000 with all the standing-room only tickets sold.

Bryant went 1 for 7 from 3-point range in 25 minutes as Los Angeles lost its fourth in a row and eighth in nine.

He also finished 1 for 14 last season against San Antonio, according to STATS.

Klay Thompson had 11 points but missed his first seven shots and, as has been the case in a handful of these wins, the Warriors took a few minutes to get rolling — and then they were off and running.

Golden State missed five of its first six shots before Curry’s 3-pointer from the left wing at 8:28. The Warriors knocked down five of their first 12 from long range to build a 27-9 lead with 1:41 left in the opening period.

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Business November 24, 2015

Blue Origin Announces Successful Launch, Landing Of Rocket

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Commercial space startup Blue Origin announced Tuesday the successful launch and landing of one of its rockets. NPR explores what the success means for space travel.

Transcript

ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:

Big news this week in commercial space travel. And to tell us all about it, NPR science correspondent Geoff Brumfiel is here. Hey, Geoff.

GEOFF BRUMFIEL, BYLINE: Hey there.

SHAPIRO: What exactly happened this week?

BRUMFIEL: So yesterday afternoon, a rocket built by this company Blue Origin, which is owned by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, took off from a field in Texas. The rocket traveled more than three times the speed of sound, got up to 62 miles above the Earth, which is technically the boundary to outer space. And then – this is the really cool part – this giant rocket stage fell back to Earth. But instead of just crashing into the ground, it fired its rockets.

(SOUNDBITE OF ROCKET FIRING)

BRUMFIEL: So the rocket fires its engines and sort of hovers like a UFO and then gently sets down on Earth.

SHAPIRO: This was so secret people didn’t even know the launch was happening. And it sounds like the big news is not the takeoff but the landing. Why is the landing so important?

BRUMFIEL: The point here is reusability. So right now, when you have one of these giant rockets taking off from Cape Canaveral, or, you know, from Kazakhstan if it’s Russian, basically the rocket goes firing off into space and then the vast majority of it, the first stage, just breaks off and goes clump back down onto the ground or into the ocean.

SHAPIRO: That’s Geoff making the sound of a rocket hitting the ground.

BRUMFIEL: Yeah, exactly. But if you could land that first stage, you could potentially use it again. And that’s exactly what billionaire Jeff Bezos told CNN he wants to do. Here he is.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

JEFF BEZOS: This is the first of what will be many test flights. We’re going to – over the next couple of years, we’re going to fly this vehicle many, many times.

BRUMFIEL: And if they can fly the same rocket many, many times, they could potentially dramatically cut the cost of space travel. So space could get a whole lot cheaper.

SHAPIRO: Does this mean that in our lifetimes people will be able to take tourist trips to space affordably?

BRUMFIEL: So that’s exactly what this company Blue Origin’s hoping to do. So on top of this rocket that they can reuse they’re going to put a capsule. And when they get up to the edge of space, the capsule’s going to pop off the top of the rocket. It’ll float in space for about four minutes, give people a great view and then it’s going to come back down. It’ll open some parachutes and land gently so it doesn’t rely on this rocket landing system. If that works, then potentially, yeah, people could at least get a taste of space. And further down the road maybe it could get cheap enough that you could actually go into orbit.

SHAPIRO: Geoff, this launch and landing was a success. Before this, there were a lot of pretty spectacular failures. So does this now mean problem solved, everybody’s got it figured out?

BRUMFIEL: Well, right, I think that’s a really good point. So, you know, this was a big success for Blue Origin, but earlier this year, they did have a failure where the rocket stage actually crashed. SpaceX, which is a rival company, has tried this several times. And their rocket stages have crashed and actually exploded. So I think it’s important to remember this isn’t a proven technology yet and we probably have a ways to go before this is going to happen.

SHAPIRO: That’s NPR’s Geoff Brumfiel. Thanks, Geoff.

BRUMFIEL: Thank you.

Copyright © 2015 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by a contractor for NPR, and accuracy and availability may vary. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Please be aware that the authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio.

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Health November 24, 2015

Worried About The Flu Shot? Let's Separate Fact From Fiction

A nurse prepares an injection of the influenza vaccine at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston in 2013.

A nurse prepares an injection of the influenza vaccine at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston in 2013. Brian Snyder/Reuters/Landov hide caption

toggle caption Brian Snyder/Reuters/Landov

Every year before influenza itself arrives to circulate, misinformation and misconceptions about the flu vaccine begin circulating. Some of these contain a grain of truth but end up distorted, like a whispered secret in the Telephone game.

But if you’re looking for an excuse not to get the flu vaccine, last year’s numbers of its effectiveness would seem a convincing argument on their own. By all measures, last season’s flu vaccine flopped, clocking in at about 23 percent effectiveness in preventing lab-confirmed influenza infections.

But that’s not the whole story, said Lisa Grohskopf, a medical officer in the influenza division of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“Twenty-three is better than zero, but the 23 percent was overall. If you were one of the people who got an influenza B strain, it was closer to 60 percent,” she said. “Even if it’s not going to work against one virus very well, there are other viruses circulating.”

Each year’s flu vaccine contains three (trivalent) or four (quadrivalent) strains of the flu, selected in February by the World Health Organization and then endorsed by the Food and Drug Administration, as the ones experts expect will circulate in the coming flu season. They choose one H1N1 strain, one H3N2 strain and one B virus strain, either from the Yamagata lineage or the Victoria lineage. Quadrivalent vaccines contain a B strain from each lineage.

“Viruses in the Yamagata lineage or in the Victoria lineage are different enough that there’s not a lot of cross-protection,” Grohskopf said. “So if, say, we have a vaccine that contains a Yamagata family virus one season and it ends up being a predominantly Victoria season, we might not get very good protection against B strains.”

But sometimes the experts’ predictions are off the mark, and sometimes a strain they select mutates before the season arrives. Last year, the H3N2 strain they chose was a poor match, and that strain dominated the season, though B viruses became more common toward the end, Grohskopf said. Adjustments were made in the vaccine for the H3N2 virus this year.

“There’s definitely reason to be hopeful that it’s going to be better this year, but it’s a little too early to tell,” Grohskopf said. “Flu seasons can be very variable in terms of how fast they take off, but right now activity is still fairly light.”

The flu vaccine options this year haven’t changed much from last year, with two exceptions. The recombinant flu vaccine, made without the virus and without eggs, is now approved for all adults age 18 and older (instead of just those ages 18 to 49). And the intradermal vaccine, a low-dose vaccine that uses a shorter needle and injects only into the skin, is now available as a quadrivalent vaccine instead of just trivalent.

The CDC does not recommend any one vaccine over another. “We really just think it’s important that people get vaccinated, and depending on where you are, you may not be able to get a particular product,” Grohskopf said. “We don’t want to hunt for one thing and then not get vaccinated until it’s too late and flu is already peaking for the season.”

Getting vaccinated against flu is particularly important for several at-risk groups and people in frequent, close contact with those at-risk groups, Grohskopf said. The populations at the highest risk of serious complications from the flu include pregnant women, people age 50 and older and children under age 5, particularly under age 2, she said.

Anyone with a chronic medical condition, such as lung disease, heart disease, kidney disease, liver disease or a neurological condition also has a higher risk of serious complications with an influenza infection. Those at risk of infecting more vulnerable people include parents of young children, day care workers, teachers, caretakers of elderly individuals and anyone working in health care.

But the problem with limiting flu immunization to these groups, she said, is that the flu is a tricky bug — and unpredictable.

“While some people are definitely at higher risk for severe disease if they get the flu, sometimes even generally healthy, young people — older children, younger adults who are the most hardy folks if they don’t have any other chronic illnesses — can get really sick, hospitalized and even die, and we can’t really predict who those folks are going to be,” Grohskopf said. “The majority of people who get the flu are going to feel really crummy for a time and then recover without any problems.” But even those folks lose work time and risk spreading the disease to family members and others, she said.

Another monkey wrench this year is additional evidence, reported at Stat, that getting a flu shot every year might reduce its effectiveness in warding off the flu. This evidence isn’t entirely new, and scientists still don’t entirely understand it, but it also doesn’t mean that skipping the flu shot this year is wise if you got it last year.

In the meantime, for those who still haven’t gotten the vaccine this year, make sure it’s not because of one of the concerns below. As described in the links, each of these misconceptions is based on inaccurate information, a misunderstanding or an exaggeration.

Concern No. 1: Can getting the flu vaccine give you the flu or make you sick?

Fact: The flu shot can’t give you the flu

Concern No. 2: Do I really need to get the flu vaccine this year if I got it last year?

Fact: For now, a new flu shot each year is still recommended

Concern No. 3: Could getting the flu vaccine make it easier for me to catch viruses, pneumonia or other infectious diseases?

Fact: Flu vaccines reduce the risk of pneumonia and other illnesses

Concern No. 4: Isn’t the flu shot just a “one size fits all” approach that doesn’t make sense for everyone?

Fact: You have many flu vaccine options, including egg-free, virus-free, preservative-free, low-dose, high-dose and no-needle choices

Concern No. 5: Can the flu shot cause death?

Fact: There have been no confirmed deaths from the flu shot

Concern No. 6: Aren’t deaths from the flu exaggerated?

Fact: Deaths from influenza range from the lower thousands to tens of thousands each U.S. flu season

Concern No. 7: Aren’t the side effects of the flu shot worse than the flu?

Fact: Influenza is nearly always far worse than flu vaccine side effects

Concern No. 8: Don’t flu vaccines contain dangerous ingredients such as mercury, formaldehyde and antifreeze?

Fact: Flu shot ingredients do not pose a risk to most people

Concern No. 9: Shouldn’t pregnant women avoid the flu shot or only get the preservative-free shot? Could the flu vaccine cause miscarriages?

Fact: Pregnant women are a high-risk group particularly recommended to get the flu shot. Fact: The flu shot reduces miscarriage risk. Fact: Pregnant women can get any inactivated flu vaccine

Concern No. 10: Can flu vaccines cause Alzheimer’s disease?

Fact: There is no link between Alzheimer’s disease and the flu vaccine; flu vaccines protect older adults

Concern No. 11: Don’t pharmaceutical companies make a massive profit on flu vaccines?

Fact: Vaccines make up a tiny proportion of pharma profits. That makes it possible for them to continue making them in the event of a pandemic

Concern No. 12: Flu vaccines don’t really work, do they?

Fact: Flu vaccines reduce the risk of flu

Concern No. 13: But flu shots don’t work in children, do they?

Fact: Flu vaccines reduce children’s risk of flu

Concern No. 14: Can flu vaccines cause vascular or cardiovascular disorders?

Fact: Flu shots reduce the risk of heart attacks and stroke

Concern No. 15: Can vaccines can break through the blood-brain barrier of young children and hinder their development?

Fact: Flu vaccines have been found safe for children 6 months and older

Concern No. 16: Will the flu vaccine cause narcolepsy?

Fact: The U.S. seasonal flu vaccine does not cause narcolepsy.

Concern No. 17: Can the flu vaccine weaken your body’s immune response?

Fact: The flu vaccine prepares your immune system to fight influenza.

Concern No. 18: Can’t the flu vaccine cause nerve disorders such as Guillain-Barré syndrome?

Fact: Influenza is more likely than the flu shot to cause Guillain-Barré syndrome.

Concern No. 19: Can the flu vaccine make you walk backward or cause other neurological disorders like Bell’s palsy?

Fact: Neurological side effects linked to flu vaccination are extremely rare (see Concern No. 18), but influenza can cause neurological complications. Fact: The flu shot has not been shown to cause Bell’s palsy.

Concern No. 20: Don’t people recover quickly from flu since it’s not really that bad?

Fact: Influenza knocks most people down *hard*

Concern No. 21: Can people die from the flu even if they don’t have another underlying condition?

Fact: Otherwise healthy people DO die from the flu

Concern No. 22: Can people with egg allergies get the flu shot?

Fact: People with egg allergies can get a flu shot

Concern No. 23: Can’t I just take antibiotics if I get the flu?

Fact: Antibiotics can’t treat a viral infection

Concern No. 24: Since I got the flu last time I got a flu shot, that means it doesn’t really work for me personally, right?

Fact: The flu shot cannot guarantee you won’t get the flu, but it reduces the risk of catching it

Concern No. 25: But I don’t need the shot since I never get the flu, right?

Fact: You can’t predict whether you’ll get the flu

Concern No. 26: Can’t I protect myself from the flu by simply eating right and washing my hands regularly?

Fact: A good diet and good hygiene alone cannot prevent the flu

Concern No. 27: Won’t getting the flu simply make my immune system stronger?

Fact: The flu weakens your immune system while your body is fighting it and puts others at risk

Concern No. 28: If I get the flu, why won’t just staying home prevent me from infecting others?

Fact: You can transmit the flu without showing symptoms

Concern No. 29: Can having a new vaccine each year make influenza strains stronger?

Fact: There’s no evidence flu vaccines have a major effect on virus mutations

Concern No. 30: Isn’t the “stomach flu” the same thing as the flu?
 Fact: The “stomach flu” is a generic term for gastrointestinal illnesses unrelated to influenza

Concern No. 31: Is there any point in getting a flu shot if I haven’t gotten one by now?

Fact: Getting the flu shot at any time during flu season will reduce your risk of getting the flu

Tara Haelle is a freelance health and science writer based in Peoria, Ill. She’s on Twitter: @tarahaelle

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