The Flu, the Vaccine, and some Facts about each. The flu, short for Influenza, is a contagious respiratory infection caused by a virus. Some symptoms of the flu could include the chills, fever, sore throat, cough, muscle aches and fatigue. For most people these conditions usually get better after a few days with just some fluids and bed rest.
So why is there all this fuss about the flu virus? How dangerous is it really?
The flu can lead to some serious complications such as pneumonia but these conditions usually only affect high risk groups such as the elderly and people with preexisting medical conditions. It is possible for severe complications from the flu to even lead to death.
Each year thousands of people catch the flu. It is a mutating virus that changes from year to year and can be spread when people are in close contact. But despite this fact very few actually develop any serious or fatal complications.
The Centers of Disease Control publicly asserts that around 36,000 Americans die each year from the flu. However, if you take a look that the CDC’s official records they show that the actual figures for flu deaths are in the hundreds and not the thousands. To put this into perspective, in 2007, 457 people died because of the flu. That same year 3,355 people died of asthma (a disease that has been listed as a possible side effect of vaccines) and 2,600 died of malnutrition. (MALNUTRITION!?! Is this possible in a country that has one of the highest standards of living ever known.) The numbers are very similar for every year you want to look at. This is all a part of the public record and you can see it for yourself by reading the National Vital Statistics Report.
But even one death is really too much so having a vaccine to prevent the flu is a great thing; Isn’t it?
Well let’s take a look at the flu vaccine.
In the U.S. there are five different flu vaccines available. Four are injections and one is a live virus that is squirted up your nose. All 5 vaccines contain the same attenuated flu viruses.
To make the flu virus, scientists travel to Asia at the beginning of each year to see what strains of the flu virus are active. They assume these same flu strains will arrive in the U.S. later in the year for our flu season. All of the companies that make the flu vaccine are instructed to put these active flu strains into the new flu vaccines.
To get started, the different flu viruses are grown in chick embryos for a few weeks. The virus is then inactivated using formaldehyde and preserved with thimerosal, a derivative of mercury. (It has been shown that some flu vaccines have as much as 25mcg of mercury per dose.) The vaccine producer also adds some other ingredients such as sodium phosphate, sodium chloride, and gelatin.
So basically your flu vaccine is a chick embryo based concoction of toxins and viruses with some preservatives mixed in to keep it from spoiling and becoming ‘dangerous’.
So we looked at the possible dangers of getting the flu virus, now let’s look at some of the possible side effects of the flu vaccine.
Some possible serious reactions to the flu vaccine include life threatening allergies and GBS (Guillain-Barre Syndrome). GBS can occur within a few weeks after getting the flu vaccine and is fatal for around 1 out of every 20 of the people that contract the disease. Other studies done on the flu vaccine have documented cases of encephalitis (brain inflammation), various neurological disorders and thrombocytopenia, a serious blood disorder.
Looking at the statistics for kids under 5 who died from the flu a major statistic jumps out. From 1999 through 2002 (before the CDC suggested it was a good idea to vaccinate young children) there was an average of less than 20 flu fatalities per year. In 2003, after the CDC recommended that these kids get the flu shot, the fatalities more than quadrupled for this age group (90 kids in 2003).
Here is a quote directly from the Fluvanol flu vaccine package insert for the 2009-2010 formula:
” FLULAVAL is an influenza virus vaccine indicated for active immunization of adults 18 years of age and older against influenza disease caused by influenza virus subtypes A and type B contained in the vaccine. This indication is based on immune response elicited by FLULAVAL, and there have been no controlled trials demonstrating a decrease in influenza disease after vaccination with FLULAVAL.”
It bears repeating – “NO controlled trials demonstrating a decrease” in contracting the flu at all after vaccination! It goes on to mention each dose contains 25 mcg of mercury. This is 250 times the amount considered safe by the EPA. So the company itself says the vaccine shows no decrease in your risk of getting the flu but it does have pages full of warnings and possible side effects. It is very interesting reading if care about your health and your body…
But again, most drugs and medicines have some sort of side effects, but if they are saving lives it might be worth the risk.
The problem, the flu vaccine has a disproportionate amount of problems compared to the possible benefits it could provide.
First, officials have to guess months in advance what flu virus strains will end up here in the U.S. If they guess wrong the flu shot is totally worthless in preventing the flu. It is only good for creating dangerous side effects.
Second, even if they guess right, the vaccine is not very efficient. In a study done over the past 40 years researchers found that in healthy children over 2 years old the flu vaccine was only effective on 33-36% of those who received the vaccine. And in children under 2 years old the same study found NO evidence that the flu vaccine had any effect at all at preventing the flu.
The study looked also looked at adults. For adults under the age of 65 the research showed that getting the flu vaccine did not affect time away from work, length of hospitalization, or death from the flu virus or its possible complications. For those adults older than age 65, the study again found that the flu vaccine was NOT effective against the influenza virus.
None of this data supports the need for a “universal immunization” of healthy adults.
So all the papers and research show that getting the flu shot really isn’t an effective way to prevent the flu. But what do the people who are supposed to understand disease and sickness doing for themselves.
Doctors, nurses and healthcare workers are supposed to be educated in disease prevention and so you would think if the flu vaccine was helpful, they would be the first to line up for the shot. I mean they are exposed to sick people all the time and they would want to protect themselves. But again the data doesn’t support this…
70% of doctors and nurses do NOT get vaccinated for the flu and 62% of all healthcare workers do the same. They DO NOT get the flu shot and are among the least likely to get vaccinated.
So if the flu shot isn’t much help (and actually could be more dangerous than the flu virus) than what can people do to help them stay healthy and avoid getting sick.
First, there has been a study done in 2006 that showed a direct link between Vitamin D deficiency and a weakened immune system. A less than perfect immune system creates susceptibility to the flu and really any viral or bacterial infection.
Second, a different study showed that interferon plays a key role in keeping your immune system working at peak performance levels. It has been clinically tested and proven by four published human clinical studies that a combination of immune-strengthening plant extracts can strengthen your immune response by boosting your body’s natural interferon. Researchers have shown that interferon can prevent infection and illness when taken in the right form. There is actually a supplement available that is proven to boost your immune system and strengthen your immune response to viral infections.
Of course I am not a doctor and I am not telling you what to do, I am just writing down facts that can be found by anyone. Don’t think that just because something is reported by the 5 o’clock news or the ‘government’ that it is necessarily true.
Do some research, talk with your doctor and decide for yourself what is best for you and your situation. There are varying shades of truth but if you care about your health and wellness it is worth it to get down to the black and white facts…
It is definitely something to think about!
