Flu shot marketing season is approaching, so here is a now-annual post about why you should re-consider acting on the CDC's advice.
By the way, if a doctor quotes a recent study showing flu shot efficacy (i.e that it works), then that result, assuming it is from a sound study, needs to be averaged in with the four dozen other studies that have been conducted on the flu shot. Together, those studies show that it doesn't actually work.
Normalize your blood level of Vitamin D for the cheapest, safest, and best protection from all viruses and bacterial illnesses. Hello, CDC, are you listening?
Do flu shots work? Not in babies: In a review of more than 51 studies involving more than 294,000 children it was found there was "no evidence that injecting children 6-24 months of age with a flu shot was any more effective than placebo. In children over 2 yrs, it was only effective 33% of the time in preventing the flu. Reference: "Vaccines for preventing influenza in healthy children." The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 2 (2008). Not in children with asthma: A study 800 children with asthma, where one half were vaccinated and the other half did not receive the influenza vaccine. The two groups were compared with respect to clinic visits, emergency department (ED) visits, and hospitalizations for asthma. CONCLUSION: This study failed to provide evidence that the influenza vaccine prevents pediatric asthma exacerbations. Reference: "Effectiveness of influenza vaccine for the prevention of asthma exacerbations." Christly, C. et al. Arch Dis Child. 2004 Aug;89(8):734-5. Not in children with asthma (2): "The inactivated flu vaccine, Flumist, does not prevent influenza-related hospitalizations in children, especially the ones with asthma…In fact, children who get the flu vaccine are more at risk for hospitalization than children who do not get the vaccine." Reference: The American Thoracic Society’s 105th International Conference, May 15-20, 2009, San Diego. Not in adults: In a review of 48 reports including more than 66,000 adults, "Vaccination of healthy adults only reduced risk of influenza by 6% and reduced the number of missed work days by less than one day (0.16) days. It did not change the number of people needing to go to hospital or take time off work." Reference: "Vaccines for preventing influenza in healthy adults." The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 1 (2006). Not in the Elderly: In a review of 64 studies in 98 flu seasons, For elderly living in nursing homes, flu shots were non-significant for preventing the flu. For elderly living in the community, vaccines were not (significantly) effective against influenza, ILI or pneumonia. Reference: "Vaccines for preventing influenza in the elderly." The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews.3 (2006). What about the new Swine Flu shot? Some of the new H1N1 (swine flu) vaccines are going to be made by Novartis. These shots will probably be made in PER.C6 cells (human retina cells) and contain MF59, a potentially debilitating adjuvant. MF-59 is an oil-based adjuvant primarily composed of squalene.
All rats injected with squalene (oil) adjuvants developed a disease that left them crippled, dragging their paralyzed hindquarters across their cages. Injected squalene can cause severe arthritis (3 on scale of 4) and severe immune responses, such as autoimmune arthritis and lupus.
Ref: (1): Kenney, RT. Edleman, R. "Survey of human-use adjuvants." Expert Review of Vaccines. 2 (2003) p171.
Ref: (2): Matsumoto, Gary. Vaccine A: The Covert Government Experiment That’s Killing Our Soldiers and Why GI’s Are Only the First Victims of this Vaccine. New York: Basic Books. p54.
Federal health officials are starting to recommend that most Americans get three flu shots this fall: one regular flu shot and two doses of the vaccine made against the new swine flu strain. School children who have never had a flu shot are targeted for four shots in the fall - twice for seasonal flu, twice for pandemic swine flu. (July 15, 2009 news)
HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has been talking to school superintendents around the country, urging them to make plans to use buildings for mass vaccinations and for vaccinating kids first. (CBS News, June 12, 2009.)
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Med Nauseam Publisher: Alix
Though I’ve published as a person mostly recovered from lupus through diet, I was recently diagnosed with Lyme Disease. Doctors have now ruled out lupus. I likely never had it, but it depends on which MD you ask.
When the Lyme tests came back positive in March, I was half-relieved and half-terrified. My updated story is posted at www.spirochicks.com.
I started Med Nauseam because I stumbled on a diet that made 80% of my symptoms vanish. I went from being bedridden for almost 4 years to “passing” as a healthy person. I still struggled with worsening insomnia and some scary neurological symptoms, so my research never ended. As an MBA who worked for 10 years in research and strategy at Fortune 500 companies, I had to know why my natural approach had helped so much, despite, or maybe because of, MDs telling me to get on some nice Big Pharma drugs.
With more than 7,000 hours of diet-disease research under my belt, I love bringing you research and credible hypotheses about causes of acquired illness.
I like to expose collective blind spots that prevent us from seeing that an uncomfortable, unpopular, impolitic or inconvenient finding is actually the truth. Usually these are truths we can do something about.
You could say my mantra is prevention of acquired illness. If we fail to do that, then I always advocate using a natural approach to reverse it, turning to Big Pharma only as a last resort.
Though I'm not an MD and content here should not be taken as medical advice*, it might help you to know I’m not an idiot. I’m a member of MENSA.
* Always consult your doctor.
Photo: Drew Altizer
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If you Google "ad nauseum" there are almost 1.5 million hits. If you Google "ad nauseam" there are 1 million hits.
If you poll graduates of any top 10 university (and I did), 9 of 10 will tell you the wrong spelling. MDs may be an exception.
Now you can have it both ways! www.mednauseam.com will take you here, as well as www.mednauseum.blogspot.com.
I chose to name this blog Med Nauseam because I was sick of being sick and I knew there were many more people like me. The title also refers to one of the blog's purposes which is to critique medicine and the medical system, which failed me for 18 years. Finally, Med Nauseam will explore, ad nauseam, alternative theories and credible hypotheses about the causes and little-known treatments for chronic illness.
I like to call out when we have a collective blind spot that prevents us from seeing that an uncomfortable, unpopular or inconvenient finding is actually the truth. Usually these are truths we can do something about.
1 nauseated people left comments:
As always, well researched! You rock star.
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