June 2007 PrepTest, Section 2, Question 15
A new government policy has been developed to avoid many serious cases of influenza. This goal will be accomplished by the annual vaccination of high-risk individuals: everyone 65 and older as well as anyone with a chronic disease that might cause them to experience complications from the influenza virus. Each year's vaccination will protect only against the strain of the influenza virus deemed most likely to be prevalent that year, so every year it will be necessary for all high-risk individuals to receive a vaccine for a different strain of the virus.
A new government policy has been developed to avoid many serious cases of influenza. This goal will be accomplished by the annual vaccination of high-risk individuals: everyone 65 and older as well as anyone with a chronic disease that might cause them to experience complications from the influenza virus. Each year's vaccination will protect only against the strain of the influenza virus deemed most likely to be prevalent that year, so every year it will be necessary for all high-risk individuals to receive a vaccine for a different strain of the virus.
A new government policy has been developed to avoid many serious cases of influenza. This goal will be accomplished by the annual vaccination of high-risk individuals: everyone 65 and older as well as anyone with a chronic disease that might cause them to experience complications from the influenza virus. Each year's vaccination will protect only against the strain of the influenza virus deemed most likely to be prevalent that year, so every year it will be necessary for all high-risk individuals to receive a vaccine for a different strain of the virus.
A new government policy has been developed to avoid many serious cases of influenza. This goal will be accomplished by the annual vaccination of high-risk individuals: everyone 65 and older as well as anyone with a chronic disease that might cause them to experience complications from the influenza virus. Each year's vaccination will protect only against the strain of the influenza virus deemed most likely to be prevalent that year, so every year it will be necessary for all high-risk individuals to receive a vaccine for a different strain of the virus.
Which one of the following is an assumption that would allow the conclusion above to be properly drawn?
The number of individuals in the high-risk group for influenza will not significantly change from year to year.
The likelihood that a serious influenza epidemic will occur varies from year to year.
No vaccine for the influenza virus protects against more than one strain of that virus.
Each year the strain of influenza virus deemed most likely to be prevalent will be one that had not previously been deemed most likely to be prevalent.
Each year's vaccine will have fewer side effects than the vaccine of the previous year since the technology for making vaccines will constantly improve.
Explanations
The assumption occurs in the last sentence. It jumps from “they’re vaccinated only against the strain most likely to be prevalent” to “they will receive a different vaccine for a different strain every year.” So, you’re saying that the strain most likely to be prevalent is different every year?
No, this loses sight of the conclusion/argument.
Epidemics aren’t even mentioned.
This is already mostly covered by what the vaccination will do—it doesn’t matter what the vaccine theoretically could do.
Yup, just as predicted. This captures the huge jump in the last sentence.
Side effects aren’t mentioned.
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