Flu Shot Ineffective - Give them to Children

From HSI Newsletter:

Late last month, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (which offers vaccine guidelines to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) recommended that all children up to age 18 should get a yearly flu shot. Currently the recommendation is only for children under the age of five.

The Associated Press article included this revealing note: "Some public health professionals pushed them to make the clearest endorsement possible of the flu vaccine, concerned that the public is losing faith in flu shots because this year's vaccine was not well matched to circulating viruses."

So let me make sure I follow this correctly. This year's flu shot is a failure. As a result, the public is losing faith in the flu shot. Therefore, "the clearest endorsement possible of the flu vaccine" needs to be made?

If your primary objective is to prevent the flu, that makes no sense. But it's actually quite logical if your primary objective is to sell as many vaccines as possible.

Meanwhile, in an HSI On the Spot posting, Michele reveals something the CDC would rather you didn't know: The flu shot is actually dangerous.

Michele searched the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System and came up with these surprising numbers linked to the flu vaccine:
203 deaths
797 life-threatening events
260 permanent disabilities
2,980 hospitalizations
405 prolonged hospitalizations
But here's the surprising part: Those are not the totals for all the years the flu shot has been given, those are for just one year – 2007.

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Immunity idol
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If you're thinking there's got to be a better way, there is.

Your flu defense is only as strong as your immune system, so you've got to start with the three basic habits for good health: 1) include plenty of fresh whole foods in your diet, 2) exercise regularly, and 3) get a proper amount of sleep. It's a no-brainer – if you're fatigued and eat junk, you'll be at a stark disadvantage when a flu bug crosses your path.

Next: Give your immune system some extra support with a few proven immune system enhancers, such as Echinacea, and vitamins C, E, and beta carotene – all of which have been shown to help fight colds and flu. Selenium is also an effective flu fighter, as is zinc and N-acetylcysteine (NAC) – an amino acid that stimulates your body to produce the powerful antioxidant enzyme glutathione.

So if you have a worthless product and want to profit from it, have doctors push your junk product on children and old people!


Natural Health and Wellness Website

Does Tamiflu cause the psychiatric problems?

From HSI (Health Sciences Institute)

It’s been all over the news: The FDA requested that Roche Holding AG, the makers of Tamiflu, add a new warning to their labels. You see, Tamiflu seems to be linked with severe, sudden psychiatric problems, especially in children. And when I say severe, I mean it – delirium, hallucinations, and impulsive actions like “falling” (maybe jumping?) off buildings and running into traffic…which can result in death.

Most of the documented cases come from Japan, a country where they used to give Tamiflu to many children. In fact, 75% of the approximately 600 cases worldwide happened there – including 5 deaths.

Roche countered with their own study.of over 150,000 subjects. Their study finds no direct link between these problems and their drug. But they did agree to the labeling changes, as long as they could add a little language of their own, that goes something like this:


“It’s important really that the label reflects that influenza itself can trigger such events,” said Roche spokesowman Martina Rupp. She went on to say that all patients with full-blown flu should be warned that the illness itself posed a risk of psychiatric problems, not just for those taking the Roche product. (This comes from the AP.)

And that’s where I think Roche has been taking its own drugs. Because what they’re really saying when you read between the lines is this: Tamiflu isn’t working. If you have taken Tamiflu, but still have such a bad case of the flu that you’re experiencing psychiatric symptoms, the medicine didn’t work.


So which is it, Roche execs? Does Tamiflu cause the psychiatric problems? Or is it simply ineffective?

Should I get a flu vaccine this season?

You'll have to answer that one for yourself after you've weighed the pros and cons. But if you were to ask Dr. Tom Jefferson that question, he would probably recommend you pass on the shot.

Dr. Jefferson is an epidemiologist and the coordinator of the Cochrane Vaccine Fields, an organization that promotes vaccine reviews and develops criteria for assessing vaccine effectiveness and safety. In a 2006 issue of the British Medical Journal, Dr. Jefferson reported on the quality of existing research on inactivated flu vaccine (the type that requires needle injection).

In an article titled "Influenza Vaccination: Policy Versus Evidence," Dr. Jefferson makes these four key points:

1) Most flu vaccine studies are poorly designed, giving unreliable validity to questionable results

2) Systemic reviews provide evidence that inactivated vaccines have "little or no effect" on measures such as time missed from work, hospital stays, or death (either directly from flu or flu-related complications)

3) Given the widespread use of flu vaccines, the available data concerning safety is remarkably small

4) The generally accepted confidence in the effectiveness of inactivated flu vaccines is at odds with the existing evidence

In the e-Alert "Kall the Kops!" (1/4/05), HSI Panelist Allan Spreen, M.D., discussed three natural agents he uses in lieu of a vaccine: vitamin C, grapefruit seed extract, and olive leaf extract. Dr. Spreen told me that at the fist sign of aches, sore throat, cough or any other symptoms of flu (or cold, or other infections), he starts with several grams of vitamin C, and then follows that with 1,000 mg (one gram) every hour until symptoms recede. You can read the entire e-Alert at this link:

http://www.hsibaltimore.com/ealerts/ea200501/ea20050104.html

HSI members can find further information about flu fighting formulas in the article "Don't Inject Yourself with Mercury and Anti-Freeze…" in the September 2003 issue of the Members Alert, available in the archives on our web site at hsibaltimore.com.

The HSI Members Alert is an excellent resource for cutting edge information about alternative healthcare. Learn how you can be among the first to find out about the latest groundbreaking advances that the mainstream media routinely ignores.


Vital Wellness