Flu Vaccine continues to raise questions.

It was only a handful of months ago that the hype was building for the 2012 Winter Flu Season.  The opportunity for medical labs around the country to boost profits, and play on fears.  Yep, strong language, but its the truth.  I would retract my statement, if only the flu manufacturers and providers considered the research and data that came out of their own establishments.

But, because they choose to ignore it, I choose to see them for what they are.  Profit driven off of fear mongering.  You might not remember the information we put out earlier in the year about how the CDC had some of its own scientists question the effectiveness and eventual ethics of the Flu vaccine. That was a pretty rough piece of information for anyone supporting the flu shot, but it was no more than a week of negativity, then it was forgotten, by most.  ( CDC. Interim Adjusted Estimates of Seasonal Influenza Vaccine Effectiveness—United States, February 2013. MMWR Feb. 22, 2013; 62:119-23.)

So as I read the recent report (article published on the National Vaccine Information Center website - http://www.nvic.org/NVIC-Vaccine-News/March-2013/effectiveness-of-flu-vaccine-raises-more-red-flags.aspx#_edn1) about the increased risk of influenza to those who take the flu shot year after year, I had to jump on it, even though it isn’t flu buzz time.  I am counting on two key reasons why it is important to write this now.

1. By writing this now, I can recall the information, and re-post this, or re-write this information in October when you are once again bombarded with flu shot propaganda. 
2. You will develop such a strong level of concern from this information, that right now, you will make a decision to never take the flu shot again.  And this will strengthen as your position over time.

PS – nobody pays me if you don’t take it, I just get to be part of the group of people changing the world for the better.

So this is the data, and it comes from the February edition of Clinical Infectious Diseases take a look at this excerpt:

The researchers followed 328 households with 1,441 members from before the 2010-2011 flu season through the end of it. A total of 866 study participants received the flu shot before the flu season started. Nearly one quarter of the households with 125 members contracted the flu during the 2010-11 season, as confirmed by laboratory tests.

When the researchers separated out those, who were not vaccinated in the previous flu season, they found less of a benefit with the flu vaccine. The influenza vaccine was 62 percent effective among people, who did not receive a flu shot in the prior year. In comparison, vaccine effectiveness among those, who did get a flu shot in the previous year, was substantially lower at -45 percent.

This is not the first study of its kind, and the article goes on to reference the other studies.  But there is this really important piece of data that is often looked at as trivial in the scientific community, yet I think it is the most valuable.  And that is simple empirical data.  Empirical – evidence that is acquired simply through observation.

The reason why I trust it more, is because there is no bias in the mind of the observed (yes, it is very possible to have bias in the observer), it is more true to life than a clinical trial, and it more directly mimics the way we live, because what is being observed is simply daily life.  

When I consider what I have observed, there is an interesting bend towards those who receive the flu shot, get the flu.  And those who don’t, rarely do.  Or if they do, it is fought off with great effectiveness in many cases.  The reason why this empirical data is so important to me, is because it is also supported by the scientific data.  Over this last few years, as I have seen more and more data come out of the scientific world, that has said the flu shot is ineffective, there wasn’t some strong opposition by any group saying, “wait a minute, this has been show to be incredibly effective, look at our observations, or look at our numbers”.  Instead those who are on the side of promoting the flu shot fall back on their same party line, thousands of people die of the flu each year, everyone needs the shot (oh by the way, do you remember that it is up to 2,000 a year who die from the flu, and 35,000 a year from pneumonia, but they steal the pneumonia stat every year and call it flu… lies).

If the flu shot is effective, then why are there not any studies that show it being effective?  This is the same reason we chose not to vaccinate our children, nor would I accept any vaccine at this point in my life.  No tetanus boosters, no hep vaccine.  I would need to see a study showing effectiveness, along with another viable reason showing risk (you don’t get tetanus from “rusty nails” or rusty anything… unless it was rusted by growing in fecally contaminated soil, sometimes just knowing where a virus actually lives will help you choose more wisely).

So.  With the data starting to show that by getting a flu shot, you actually are becoming more likely to get the flu, I would recommend you think twice.  Unless you are my friend Andy McCann, then you might want the drive through McDonald’s Happy Meal Flu Shot combo.  Inside joke, they don’t actually have that…………  yet.

Be well, and Be Blessed!  – Dr. E