When It Comes To The Flu Shot, Why I Choose Not

Sometimes-it-is-a-bumpy-path-to-health

 “The art of medicine consists in amusing

the patient while nature affects the cure.

” Voltaire

First things first. I am not trying to persuade anyone! My choices are just that. My choices. However, particularly around this time of year, I get asked if I have gotten the annual flu shot. I end up feeling slightly defensive when I look the person straight in the eye and say, “No.”

It is not easy bucking a ginormous pharmaceutical system. The advertising slant is that I am being irresponsible if I don’t get the flu shot. Employers cite lost work time, there is the risk of potentially infecting others and, depending on my general health, I could be placing myself in jeopardy of more serious illnesses.

With those dictates it seems reasonable to get the shot, right?  However, that is not how I roll.  I am not convinced the shot does what the manufacturers claim it will do.  How often do we hear that the virus introduced in any given year was not the flu strain that ultimately made people sick? And, skeptical me, I wonder what other ingredients go into those vaccinations.

Dr. David Williams (drdavidwilliams.com) recently sent out an email about flu vaccinations and I thought I would share some highlights. Again, I’m not trying to persuade, just pass on food for thought. I want you to make choices based on your beliefs.

Here are his words:

–Flu vaccines– the evidence shows that they flat out don’t work. In fact, about the only thing flu vaccines are truly good for is lining the pockets of bio-pharmaceutical companies.

–Flu Vaccine Dangers:

–Vaccines deliver either live or dead viruses directly into your body tissue, short-circuiting your body’s normal front-line immune defense system in your respiratory passageways and mucous membrane linings. If your immune system is weak or out of balance when the virus is introduced this way, you could have serious health consequences.

–There are controversial additives that have been used for years in seasonal flu shots. The most well known is thimerosal, a mercury-based preservative that has been associated with brain and immune system dysfunction. The majority of flu shots each contain 25 mcg of this toxin.

–The live virus “FluMist” vaccine does not have thimerosal or adjuvants with it, but there are serious concerns about this vaccine option as well. For one, the FluMist virus is not a naturally occurring virus, but a laboratory-created influenza variant. The virus also has the potential to “shed,” which means it could be transferred to other household individuals. This could be a serious concern if anyone in your home has a compromised immune system.

–Studies Consistently Show Flu Shots Don’t Work. For instance:

• The Archives of Pediatric & Adolescent Medicine has reported that giving young children flu shots appeared to have no impact on flu-related doctor visits or hospitalizations during two recent flu seasons.
• A large-scale, systematic review of 51 studies published in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews found that the flu vaccine was no more effective for children than a placebo. And research published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine similarly reports that there has been no decrease in deaths from influenza and pneumonia, despite the fact that vaccination coverage among the elderly has increased from 15 percent in 1980 to 65 percent today.

I would love to know if you do, or don’t, get a flu shot. No judgments, just curiousity. If you have gotten the shot do you feel it has worked? If you choose not to get the flu shot do you have any regrets? Why or why not?Here’s to a happy and healthy winter!