This installment serves as my annual public service message regarding the flu vaccine. Every year there is a huge push through the media and our health practitioners to get the flu vaccine. And the majority of us just go along and trust these advocates’ assertion that the vaccine is safe and will prevent you from getting the flu. But when you look at the data, as I have summarized below, you will see this is simply not true.
So why would they advocate getting vaccinated if the vaccine is unsafe and ineffective? There are two main reasons. First and foremost is fear. We don’t know much about the facts (but hopefully you will after reading this Blog) and so we act because we are told we will be at risk if we don’t act.
The other reason is money. The drug companies that make the flu vaccine make billions of dollars from this product and they have powerful lobbyists and persuasive sales reps who convince lawmakers and doctors that the flu vaccine will save lives. The problem is there is no data to back this up.
In order to make this easier to follow, I have outlined the relevant facts concerning the flu and the flu vaccine below. After reading this, you can make your own decision. My message is this: Why would you take a medication for which is there is little to no evidence of effectiveness and that contains potentially harmful ingredients?
At the end of this blog, I have included a link to a video and article I found on mercola.com that gives an audio-visual presentation and supporting studies if you want to follow up with some of your own research.
The Facts:
1. CDC records show that only a few hundred people die from complications of the flu in an average year; and these are primarily the already sick and the elderly.
2. The process for making the flu vaccine begins when authorities travel to Asia each year to determine which strains of the flu virus are currently active. They then assume that these same flu viruses will arrive in the US several months later at the start of the flu season in the Fall. They then instruct the vaccine manufacturers to include these strains in their new flu vaccines.
3. Every year, three different flu strains are selected and grown in chick embryos for several weeks.
4. Each flu strain is inactivated with formaldehyde (a known carcinogen) and preserved with thimerosal, a mercury derivative; they also contain other preservatives, commonly found in detergent. These ingredients have been linked to cancer, neurological disorders, and other degenerative diseases.
5. Reactions to the flu vaccine continue to increase each year and some are serious and life threatening. Among these reactions are the onset of flu-like symptoms, allergic reactions, Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS), encephalitis, various neurological disorders, and blood disorders. GBS can occur several weeks after the vaccine and is fatal in 1 of every 20 victims.
6. From the 10-year period between 1992-2002, before the CDC advocated vaccinating young children, its records show that only 79 young children died from the flu. In 2003, after the CDC advocated vaccinating young children, deaths from the flu in that age group skyrocketed to 90—a three-fold increase in just one year!
7. In a recent meta-analysis study that analyzed all relevant flu vaccine studies during the last 40 years, researchers found that in healthy children older than 2 years of age, the live flu vaccine (FluMist) was just 33% effective; the inactive vaccine was just 36% effective.
8. In a recent meta-analysis study published in The Lancet, researchers found no evidence that flu vaccines prevent the flu in children younger than 2 years of age. That’s 0% effectiveness.
9. A similar 40-year meta-analysis study found that the flu vaccine did not affect hospital stays, time off from work, or death from the flu in healthy adults and elderly adults (over age 65).
10. The same study found that the vaccine was 46% effective in preventing pneumonia, but not the flu, for older adults living in a group home or assisted living community.
11. Therefore, vaccination of healthy adults, children and the elderly is not supported by the data.
12. Perhaps the most telling statistic is a survey published in the Journal of Internal Medicine, which showed that 70% of doctors and nurses choose not to get the flu vaccine each year. So although doctors and nurses want you to get the flu shot, they are among the least likely to be vaccinated.
13. Vitamin D protects against flu. We get most of our vitamin D from the sun. The flu mainly occurs in the winter months, when we get less sun exposure. The flu rarely occurs near the equator, where there is lots of sun.
14. A landmark study published in the December 2006 issue of Epidemiology and Infection, showed that vitamin D deficiency weakens the immune system and creates susceptibility to influenza.
15. Vitamin D supplements in doses of 2,000-5,000 IU’s daily, helps to protect against the flu.
So what can you do instead of getting the vaccine to protect yourself?
1. Eat a healthy diet low in refined, processed foods and high in protein, green vegetables.
2. Exercise consistently (4-5 days per week) and at moderate to heavy intensity.
3. Take extra vitamin D (2,000-5,000 IU’s daily) to boost the immune system.
4. At the onset of symptoms, take vitamin C/zinc lozenges, 1 tsp of raw honey, 1 Tbsp of apple cider vinegar orally, and 2 drops of hydrogen pyroxide in each ear daily.
Now here’s the link to that video and article: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/09/26/flu-vaccine-exposed.aspx
This installment serves as my annual public service message regarding the flu vaccine. Every year there is a huge push through the media and our health practitioners to get the flu vaccine. And the majority of us just go along and trust these advocates’ assertion that the vaccine is safe and will prevent you from getting the flu. But when you look at the data, as I have summarized below, you will see this is simply not true.
So why would they advocate getting vaccinated if the vaccine is unsafe and ineffective? There are two main reasons. First and foremost is fear. We don’t know much about the facts (but hopefully you will after reading this Blog) and so we act because we are told we will be at risk if we don’t act.
The other reason is money. The drug companies that make the flu vaccine make billions of dollars from this product and they have powerful lobbyists and persuasive sales reps who convince lawmakers and doctors that the flu vaccine will save lives. The problem is there is no data to back this up.
In order to make this easier to follow, I have outlined the relevant facts concerning the flu and the flu vaccine below. After reading this, you can make your own decision. My message is this: Why would you take a medication for which is there is little to no evidence of effectiveness and that contains potentially harmful ingredients? At the end of this blog, I have included a link to a video and article I found on mercola.com that gives an audio-visual presentation and supporting studies if you want to follow up with some of your own research.
The Facts:
1. CDC records show that only a few hundred people die from complications of the flu in an average year; and these are primarily the already sick and the elderly.
2. The process for making the flu vaccine begins when authorities travel to Asia each year to determine which strains of the flu virus are currently active. They then assume that these same flu viruses will arrive in the US several months later at the start of the flu season in the Fall. They then instruct the vaccine manufacturers to include these strains in their new flu vaccines.
3. Every year, three different flu strains are selected and grown in chick embryos for several weeks.
4. Each flu strain is inactivated with formaldehyde (a known carcinogen) and preserved with thimerosal, a mercury derivative; they also contain other preservatives, commonly found in detergent. these ingredients have been linked to cancer, neurological disorders, and other degenerative diseases.
5. Reactions to the flu vaccine continue to increase each year and some are serious and life threatening. Among these reactions are the onset of flu-like symptoms, allergic reactions, Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS), encephalitis, various neurological disorders, and blood disorders. GBS can occur several weeks after the vaccine and is fatal in 1 or every 20 victims.
6. From the 10-year period between 1992-2002, before the CDC advocated vaccinating young children, its records show that only 79 young children died from the flu. In 2003, after the CDC advocated vaccinating young children, deaths from the flu in that age group skyrocketed to 90—a three-fold increase in just one year!
7. In a recent meta-analysis study that analyzed all relevant flu vaccine studies during the last 40 years, researchers found that in healthy children older than 2 years of age, the live flu vaccine (FluMist) was just 33% effective; the inactive vaccine was just 36% effective.
8. In a recent meta-analysis study published in The Lancet, researchers found no evidence that flu vaccines prevent the flu in children younger than 2 years of age. That’s 0% effectiveness.
9. A similar 40-year meta-analysis study found that the flu vaccine did not affect hospital stays, time off from work, or death from the flu in healthy adults and elderly adults (over age 65).
10. The same study found that the vaccine was 46% effective in preventing pneumonia, but not the flu, for older adults living in a group home or assisted living community.
11. Therefore, vaccination of healthy adults, children and the elderly is not supported by the data.
12. Perhaps the most telling statistic is a survey published in the Journal of Internal Medicine, which showed that 70% of doctors and nurses choose not to get the flu vaccine each year. So although doctors and nurses want you to get the flu shot, they are among the least likely to be vaccinated.
13. Vitamin D protects against flu. We get most of our vitamin D from the sun. The flu mainly occurs in the winter months, when we get less sun exposure. The flu rarely occurs near the equator, where there is lots of sun.
14. A landmark study published in the December 2006 issue of Epidemiology and Infection, showed that vitamin D deficiency weakens the immune system and creates susceptibility to influenza.
15. Vitamin D supplements in doses of 2,000-5,000 IU’s daily, helps to protect against the flu.
So what can you do instead of getting the vaccine to protect yourself?
1. Eat a healthy diet low in refined, processed foods and high in protein, green vegetables.
2. Exercise consistently (4-5 days per week) and at moderate to heavy intensity.
3. Take extra vitamin D (2,000-5,000 IU’s daily) to boost the immune system.
4. At the onset of symptoms, take vitamin C/zinc lozenges, 1 tsp of raw honey, 1 Tbsp of apple cider vinegar orally, and 2 drops of hydrogen pyroxide in each ear daily.
Now here’s the link to that video and article: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/09/26/flu-vaccine-exposed.aspx
