This is a common misconception.
You want to calculate the odds of 162 people not showing an effect where there should be one?
What is important is not the sample size, but the manner of sample selection. 10 people carefully chosen to represent a population is infinitely more valuable than 1000 people chosen with some uncontrolled selection bias.
Yes, a former colleague of mine had H1N1 this summer. He was put into a drug induced coma and intubated for 3 weeks. He is in his mid-30s and seemingly healthy.
That is why you should ask your doctor if you should get the vaccine. Immunosuppressed are on the high risk list and are encouraged to get the vaccine.
As I understand it Jackson disregards any data that wasn't gathered via a randomized, double-blinded, placebo controlled trial (RCT). Performing a trial with a placebo for flu vaccines has ethical implications because the flu vaccine has been proven effective. Possibly causing harm by not preventing the flu in subjects.
Another point in the critique is that Jackson's findings are based on seasonal flu and not pandemic flu. His findings are for people 60 and older, an age group not particularly targeted by the H1N1 flu.
