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Amid a significant spike in influenza cases across the United States, Mehmet Oz, the current administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), is downplaying the importance of flu vaccinations, suggesting to the public, wrongly, that this year’s shot is ineffective.

Oz made the comments in an appearance on Newsmax last week.

“Every year, there is a flu vaccine, it doesn’t always work very well,” Oz claimed. “That’s why it’s been controversial of late. But like many illnesses, the best news out there is that you can take care of yourself so that when you do end up running into the flu, you can overwhelm it.”

Oz then pushed questionable “Make America Healthy Again” strategies for dealing with the flu, advising the public to get “sunlight,” include Vitamin D in their diets, or take zinc supplements to possibly shorten the duration of the flu. He also called on Americans to “eat the right food” and engage in physical activity.

While eating healthy and exercising are good advice in general, Oz’s downplaying of vaccines has concerned many health experts. Notably, his recommendation of zinc — which has been shown in some studies to help boost the immune system — came without dosage recommendations, which could potentially lead to........

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