A cardiac surgeon and Professor of Surgery at the University of Washington recommends avoiding the flu shot and taking vitamin D instead. Donald Miller, MD, says “Seventy percent of doctors do not get a flu shot.”
Health officials say that every winter 5–20 percent of the population catches the flu, 200,000 people are hospitalized, and 36,000 people will die from it. The National Vital Statistics Reports compiled by the CDC show that only 1,138 deaths a year occur due to influenza alone, and more than 34,000 of the “36,000″ flu deaths are what officials estimate are “influenza-associated” pneumonic and cardiovascular deaths.
There is also a lack of evidence that young children benefit from flu shots. A systematic review of 51 studies involving 260,000 children age 6 to 23 months found no evidence that the flu vaccine is any more effective than a placebo (Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2006;1:CD004879).
A randomized trial found that the incidence of influenza in infants whose mothers had a flu shot during their pregnancy was 4%. The incidence of flu in infants whose mothers did not have a flu shot was 10%. (NEJM 2008;359:) In the study, flu shots reduced the relative risk of influenza illness in infants by a seemingly impressive 63%, yet only 6 out of 100 infants actually benefited from the shot. The other 94 received no benefit – 4 got influenza anyway – and all are at risk from being harmed by the vaccine, particularly from the mercury, aluminum, and formaldehyde in it. - Donald Miller, MD
Flu shots contain a number of substances which may have adverse effects on health, especially for children:
* Mercury: Two-thirds of the vaccines made for the 2008–09 flu season contain full-dose thimerosal, an organomercury compound, 49% mercury by weight. It is used to disinfect the vaccine. Each of these flu shots contain 25 micrograms of mercury, a mercury content of 50,000 part per billion, 250 times more than the Environmental Protection Agency’s safety limit. Mercury is a neurotoxin, with a toxicity level 1,000 times that of lead.
* Formaldehyde, a known cancer-causing agent is used to inactivate the virus.
* Aluminum, added to promote an antibody response,is a neurotoxin that may play a role in Alzheimer’s disease.
* Other additives in the flu vaccine include:
o Triton X-100 (a detergent)
o Polysorbate 80
o carbolic acid
o ethylene glycol (antifreeze)
o gelatin
o various antibiotics such as neomycin, streptomycin, and gentamicin that can cause allergic reactions
So why does the CDC push the flu shot every year?
The CDC’s 15-member Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) makes recommendations each year on who should be vaccinated. Almost all the ACIP members who make these recommendations have financial ties to the vaccine industry.
Hmmm… Big money influencing public health policy.
The CDC put out a 7 part Recipe to increase demand for the flu vaccine:
1. Influenza’s arrival coincides with immunization “season” (i.e., when people can take action)
2. Dominant strain and/or initial cases of disease are:
– Associated with severe illness and/or outcomes
– Occur among people for whom influenza is not generally
perceived to cause serious complications (e.g., children,
healthy adults, healthy seniors)
– In cities and communities with significant media outlets
3. Medical experts and public health authorities publicly (e.g., via media) state concern and alarm (and predict dire outcomes)–and urge influenza vaccination.
4. The combination of ‘2’ and ‘3’ result in: Significant media interest and attention, Framing of the flu season in terms that motivate behavior (e.g., as “very severe,” “more severe than last or past years,” “deadly”)
5. Continued reports (e.g., from health officials and media) that influenza is causing severe illness and/or affecting lots of people – helping foster the perception that many people are susceptible to a bad case of influenza.
6. Visible/tangible examples of the seriousness of the illness (e.g., pictures of children, families of those affected coming forward) andpeople getting vaccinated (the first to motivate, the latter to reinforce)
7. References to, and discussions, of pandemic influenza
Vaccination demand, particularly among people who don’t routinely receive an annual influenza vaccination, is related to heightened concern, anxiety, and worry. For example:
* A perception or sense that many people are falling ill
* A perception or sense that many people are experiencing bad illness
* A perception or sense of vulnerability to contracting and experiencing bad illness.
* Some component of success stems from media stories and information that create motivating (i.e., high) levels of concern and anxiety about influenza.