Is The Flu Vaccine Not Effective?

We all are very well aware of the push for getting a flu shot every year and the case is made every year by the media, our doctors and many other outlets.  We have more than enough information to assist us with a decision of why we need to get immunized.  However, this article is not going to rehash those commonly held beliefs.  Rather this article is for those who want to know the other side, those who want information about other researchers who are challenging the status quo. Then you can do further information with the links provided to make the best decision, along with your doctor, for your personal situation.  Is the flu vaccine not effective?

Tom Jefferson, an epidemiologist, leads an international team of researchers who have combed through hundreds of flu-vaccine studies.  There are not many who are as well versed in flu studies as he.   Tom Jefferson has taken a lot of heat just for saying, ‘Here’s the evidence: it’s not very good.'  The reaction from the establishment is so fierce against him and even hysterical that you’d think he was advocating stealing babies. Yet while other flu researchers may not like what Jefferson has to say, they cannot ignore the fact that he knows the flu-vaccine literature better than anyone else on the planet.  He states that the vast majority of the studies were deeply flawed.  He calls them 'rubbish'.  According to him, only four studies were properly designed to pin down the effectiveness of flu vaccine, he says, and two of those showed that it might be effective in certain groups of patients, such as school-age children with no underlying health issues like asthma. The other two showed equivocal results or no benefit.

Much of this is because flu researchers have been fooled into thinking vaccine is more effective than the data suggest. The number one reason is that the only way to know if someone has the flu—as opposed to influenza-like illness—is by taking a swab of a patients nose or throat and running a test, and that is quite frankly just not done. When an old person dies of respiratory failure after an influenza-like illness, they nearly always get coded as influenza,  and laboratory tests are rarely performed, says Jackson.

Here are some other studies bucking conventional thought.

Is the flu vaccine not effective?

• Those who have yearly flu shots are at an increased risk of flu infection in the next year.  In February 2013, the Clinical Infectious Diseases reported that  There is substantial negative effect of prior-year vaccination.  This is troubling when healthcare workers are now mandated to get the flu shot every year.   http://www.nvic.org/NVIC-Vaccine-News/March-2013/effectiveness-of-flu-vaccine-raises-more-red-flags.aspx 

• An analysis of Canadian epidemiological studies suggesting that people, who had received seasonal flu shots the year before the 2009 H1N1 swine flu pandemic, had an increased risk of becoming infected with the pandemic swine flu the next. 2010, PLoSMedicine http://www.plosmedicine.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pmed.1000259  

• The flu vaccine is not effective in the elderly. The traditional vaccine may not work so well in older people because of an idea known as immune senescense.  As people age, their immune systems weaken, resulting in poor vaccine response, especially to inactivated strains.  (IMPORTANT:  Because of this FACT, the elderly are encouraged to get the high dose vaccine.  This year 23 seniors died during the clinical trial getting this high dose vaccine.  Please read this and make sure you share with your parents, grandparents or other elderly neighbors.  http://healthimpactnews.com/2013/23-seniors-died-after-receiving-this-years-flu-shot-sold-by-pharmacies/ ) The Lancet Infectious Diseases   http://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473-3099(12)70184-6/fulltext 

• The flu vaccine works best among healthy adults and children older than 2 years of age.That is HEALTHY adults and children. It is not proven effective for those who are not healthy and you cannot find those statistics.

• The healthy user effect. Lisa Jackson, a physician and senior investigator with the Group Health Research Center, in Seattle, challenged to go against establishment and questioned the mortality rate reduction for people who get the flu vaccine. They hypothesized that on average, people who get vaccinated are simply healthier than those who don’t, and thus less liable to die over the short term. People who don’t get vaccinated are those who are frail, bedridden or very ill.  They may also be more likely to succumb to flu or any other illness, because they are generally older and sicker.  http://ije.oxfordjournals.org/content/35/2/337.short

• Flu shots can 'distract' your immune system,  and thus greatly impair the ability to fight a full fledged viral attack.  This conclusion also from the Canadian study referenced above.  This study promptly led some Canadian provinces to halt the administration of flu vaccinations. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/technology/science/more-flu-programs-suspended/article4287080/

Prevention is key and so important.  If your immune system is strong, your body can cope with and fight an influenza infection.  Here are some things to start NOW to make sure your body can fight the upcoming flu and cold season.  This information is from lef.org and you can read more about their suggestions for prevention here. http://www.lef.org/protocols/infections/influenza_les.htm  Life Extension is a medical alternative site, balancing medical science and alternative medicine.  

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