Monday, December 26, 2011

Flu Vaccines

A recent meta-analysis in the Lancet (a meta-analysis combines the results of many studies and pools the data together providing a bigger picture of an area of interest) reviewed the effectiveness of vaccinations in all age groups. They found that 1.5 of every 100 adults vaccinated had a reduction in incidence of influenza A or B (the CDC usually places three strains either A or B in the flu vaccine).

The study showed no benefit for older adults (greater than 65) and that reported benefits are greatly reduced in some seasons (what season is that? flu season?). They did show the greatest benefit in young children. This can be due to many factors. One being reduced innate immunity due to a diet low in cholesterol, healthy fats, and sunlight exposure in addition to regularly consuming highly processed foods such as dairy, cereals, and grains. Cholesterol is a known factor the body uses to fight bacteria and viruses (in addition to other pathogens and toxins).

The risk associated with vaccines in any age group was not addressed. This includes immediate reactions and long-term harm associated with mercury accumulation.

The CDC states about vaccines,  
There are a number of factors that can make getting a good vaccine virus strain for vaccine production challenging, including both scientific issues and issues of timing. Currently, only viruses grown in eggs can be used as vaccine virus strains. If specimens have been grown in other cell lines, they cannot be used for vaccine strains. However, more and more laboratories do not use eggs to grow influenza viruses, making it difficult to obtain potential vaccine strains. In addition, some influenza viruses, like H3N2 viruses, grow poorly in eggs, making it even more difficult to obtain possible vaccine strains. In terms of timing, in some years certain influenza viruses may not circulate until later in the influenza season, or a virus can change late in the season or from one season to the next. This can make it difficult to forecast which viruses will predominate the following season, but it can also make it difficult to identify a vaccine virus strain in time for the production process to begin."


This combined with the fact that the overwhelming majority of reported "flu" episodes are not actually influenza A or B. CDC data indicates around 20% incidence rate. This greatly reduces the reported benefit of vaccinations.

I fail to see real benefit of the flu vaccination when there is so much we can do to improve our immunity and health through diet and lifestyle. I propose there is a much wiser and smarter alternative. This includes changes in diet, sunlight exposure, sleep patterns, exercise, and stress reduction. Prevention through lifestyle change can also have a widespread impact on our health in other areas (such as cancer, heart disease, and obesity) and may even prevent the flu in the first place. This may even help eliminate toxins accumulated over time (including mercury from previous vaccinations) improving longevity and quality of life issues.


Here is a summary of the findings from a study in the Journal of Virology. Healthy children that received preventive treatment in the form of regular flu vaccinations were shown to have less antibodies across a wider variety of flu strains than non-vaccinated children. This is classic and shows how short-sighted and poorly designed preventive treatment can present long-term risks on our ability fight disease and reduce stressors to our health. Keep in mind stress (inflammation) is good short-term to fight acute alterations in our homeostasis but inflammation associated with chronic stressors can have detrimental impact across many systems in our body.

Artificially acquired immunity (flu vaccinations) cannot and should not replace naturally acquired humoral immunity in diseases that pose little risk in healthy children. Children subject to regular flu vaccines are at higher risk for future viral infections than children who do not receive routine influenza vaccinations. There are much better ways to upregulate innate and adaptive immunity. This should be the focus of carefully designed preventive treatment.


There is no magic pill (or shot) to cure or prevent our ails. Do you really want an injection filled toxins that slowly reduces your immune response year after year? The choice is yours.

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