Why you should avoid getting the flu shot this year
Ouch! And is it even worth it? Photo courtesy of Noodles and Beef, Flickr
Sneezing, body aches, chills, fever: We’ve all been there, but is there anything we can do to protect ourselves from the dreaded flu?
The flu shot probably comes to mind, but does it really work? Is it safe?
The answer is no!
What does the Center for Disease Control have to say?
Each year, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) creates an influenza vaccine (based on flu trends) that is supposed to protect against the three deadliest strains of flu each season.
The problem: there are hundreds of strains of the flu, as the flu mutates every year. This makes the flu shot nothing more than a seasonal stab in the dark at flu strains that may be active.
Take the 2003/2004 flu season. The CDC predicted that the flu vaccine they created that year was not going to be effective, because the strains the vaccine targeted weren’t active that season.
According to the CDC, “No flu vaccine will protect its recipient 100 per cent.”
Isn’t the whole point of getting a vaccine for protection from disease or illness? I don’t get a polio vaccine hoping that I won’t get polio — I know I won’t get polio, because the polio vaccine is targeted, unlike the influenza vaccine.
What raises more eyebrows is a brief chemistry lesson on how the flu vaccine works, courtesy of Dr. Anne Marie Helmenstine, PhD in biomedical sciences.
“When you get the flu vaccine, your body is receiving minute traces of inactive flu molecules. When the flu virus contacts a chemical “match” from the vaccine, it stimulates the body to produce antibodies. When an antibody binds to a molecule, it marks it for destruction. A flu vaccine can only stimulate your immune system to protect you against the viruses in the vaccine.”
So, if you have had a flu shot, will you be protected?
Protection depends on how closely the CDC is able to “match” the vaccine to the active flu each season.
According to Helmenstine, “You may not get any protection from the flu, because the flu virus mutates and the vaccine doesn’t account for these mutations.”
Even if the CDC’s predictions are “on” for a flu season, you may still get sick if the vaccine can’t create enough antibodies to actually protect you from the flu.
According to Helmenstine, you will still get the flu if your body isn’t fast enough to produce antibodies; the virus has mutated beyond your body’s ability to recognize it; your body didn’t make enough antibodies when you first received the flu vaccine; or if you received your vaccine too early or too late in the flu season.
What’s inside a flu vaccine?
According to Helmenstine, each flu vaccine contains high levels of mercury, aluminum, formaldehyde, and other various toxic agents. In addition to these toxins, there is triton X-100 (a chemical in laundry detergent), polysorbate 80 (a food filler), carbolic acid, ethylene gycol (antifreeze) and various antibiotics in every flu vaccine.
According to Dr. Donald Miller, cardiac surgeon and professor of surgery at the University of Washington, two-thirds of flu vaccines administered in 2008/2009 were comprised of 49 per cent mercury by weight.
Dr. Miller’s research indicates that mercury is 100 times more toxic than lead: every flu shot contains 25 micrograms of mercury, which is 250 times more than the Environmental Protection Agency’s safety limit!
How to protect yourself from the flu without getting the flu vaccine?
Besides commonsense behaviors like hand washing, avoiding contact with your eyes, nose and mouth before you have washed your hands, and sneezing into your sleeve or a Kleenex, what can you do? Dr. Miller has some great insight.
He recounts five independent studies indicating that insufficient levels of vitamin D significantly impairs your immune system’s ability to respond to common viruses like the cold or the flu, and dramatically increases respiratory infections in your body.
Miller’s solution is to increase your intake of vitamin D during flu season, through foods like fish, eggs, and soy milk, or by taking a synthetic vitamin D supplement.
So, before you roll up your sleeve for your flu shot this season, consider the facts.[hr]
