As a fellow social sciences doctoral level researcher I know what you mean. But I ask...how LONG do you want the safety study to last? Autoimmune diseases take years or decades to develop.

Obviously the length of time it can last is constrained by the flu season. But the cases of Guillain-Barre precipitated by the 1976 vaccine appeared within 10 weeks of the vaccine being administered, which is why the vaccination program was cut short.

It's a question of weighing potential future side effects against the danger of getting the flu, really.