The Flu Shot

It’s that time again. The news is full of stories about the upcoming flu season. The headlines are panic oriented.

The flu vaccine is actually an attenuated (dead) form of the flu. It also contains mercury which has potential negative health effects. The vaccine was never meant for healthy people, only for elderly, immune compromised individuals, or people who would die if they contracted the flu. In fact, last year, they had the wrong strain of flu. 82 million people were vaccinated but the National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC) reports “Only 3 to 14% of those who got vaccinated were protected against the flu...”  Questions had been raised about the vaccine’s effectiveness the prior spring. In December 2003 Barbara Loe Fisher, Founder of the NCIC and the consumer voting member of the FDA Advisory Committee, called on the federal health officials and flu vaccine makers to be honest with the American people about the effectiveness of the flu vaccine.  Her challenge: “It’s not right to lead people to believe that if they get vaccinated now, they will be protected against it.”
 
Although the vaccine was a failure, the vaccine campaign was successful; two of the vaccine manufacturers had sales of $322 million and $598 million, respectively.
 
Reasons people get the flu vaccine include:  They think they’re being protected, they assume it can’t hurt them or their kids, it’s “free” or, they think they have no choice.  But controversy surrounds all of these reasons.  And, social pressure from media flu spokespeople, fearful co-workers, or from the administrators at you child’s school is pressure, not information, not choice.
 
Does the vaccine guarantee safety from the flu?  No!  A young boy form Colorado, whose death from the flu was widely publicized was vaccinated.
 
By the way, do you wonder what the “insiders” (health care workers) are doing? They’re NOT getting vaccinated. It’s reported that more that 60% of health care professional did not get the flu vaccine last year.
 
For pregnant women, the dead virus vaccine is recommended past 14 weeks despite evidence that brain damage in newborns has been associated with mothers exposed to high levels of mercury. The live vaccine is not recommended.
 
The newer flu mist vaccine can actually spread the flu.  It’s “live” and people are cautioned to avoid contact with immune compromised individuals during the 21-day post vaccination period.  Is that possible?  You will actually develop stronger resistance by getting the real flu and getting over it.  Parents need to know an increase in Alzheimer’s had been noted among those who had regular flu shots as an adult.  The CDC reports that after vaccination, immunity declines over time and may be too low to provide protection after one year.  Future generations of Americans will become vaccine dependent, presumably for the rest of their lives.
 
While many people think their only choices are to get the flu shot or go without protection, chiropractic has been shown to have a positive effect on the immune system.
 
Boosting the immune system naturally can be safer and more effective, both short and long term, than other choices.
 
For further information about the flu vaccine:
1. National Vaccine Information Center, www.nvic.org
2. Vaccine Risk Awareness Network,   www.vran.org/vaccines/flu/flu-effectiveness.htm