Should I Get a Flu Shot?

Questions about the Flu Shot

With all the media spin about the flu season and the huge push to get flu shots I am receiving questions about whether it’s a good idea to get a flu shot.

Make Your Own Decision

First of all let me emphasize that whether or not you get a flu shot is entirely your decision in consultation with your physician. However please be very well informed before you make that decision. Consider the risks of the vaccine and the risks of having influenza.

Personally I do not get flu shots for the reasons I will present in the rest of this article.

Flu Shot Hysteria

What’s behind all the flu shot hysteria? Mostly it’s coming from the mainstream media who receives their input from the Center for Disease Control, Big Pharma,and  Big Medicine. The pharmaceutical industry, which produces the flu vaccines, and the medical industry, which gives the vaccines, stand to make big income when lots of people receive their flu shots.

In Dr. Mercola’s recent article about the flu he quoted a pediatrician who was touting the financial advantages to physicians when they advocate and give the flu vaccine to their patients. Here’s the conclusion of this pediatrician‘sarticle:

“Bottom line: $25,000 to $42,500, which is not bad! Influenza can be devastating. Offering influenza vaccines to your patients is good for their health. It is good for the whole community. Giving influenza vaccine is also good for the financial health of your practice.”

Obviously this Dr. believed in giving the flu vaccine. But perhaps if he and other physicians actually took a close look at the statistics on the effectiveness (or lack thereof) and the potential severe adverse reactions of the flu vaccine they might not be so motivated to push it from a health standpoint.

Gold Standard Research Shows Flu Shots Are Minimally Effective

The  international, independent, not-for-profit organization known as the Cochrane Collaboration consists of  over 28,000 contributors from more than 100 countries. They reviewed all of the research studies on the flu vaccines and came to these conclusions:

“…they (flu vaccines) do not have a good track record. The evidence from the hundreds of studies that we’ve synthesized, is that sometimes they work a little, and sometimes they don’t. In general, the quality of the literature is such that it is very difficult to understand if they actually work.”

 “the response to the [flu] virus is driven by vested interests.”

In addition even a journalist chided his fellow journalists for quoting statistics inaccurately. it’s very easy to put a spin on statistics. For instance, they quote that the death rate from contracting influenza is 7% when they don’t even really know how many people actually have influenza. In other words it’s 7% of what? Even school kids know you can’t do that kind of math.

Read Part 2 of  Should I Get a Flu Shot to learn about the possible adverse effects of the vaccine and to find out what you can do to keep your immune system strong.

Blessings,

Dr. Jo