Why You Should Avoid The Flu Shot

I decided a week ago that I was not going to write about the flu vaccine anymore.  However, every time I see our Government spinning lies about the flu vaccine I get irritated.  Due to this week's heavy media push about the flu vaccine, I feel the need to write one more article (or…perhaps a few more) about this vaccine.   

This is truly an unusual time we live in.  The U.S. government is spending billions of our dollars promoting the mass vaccination of the U.S. population for the flu virus and the swine flu virus.  The U.S. government is making the vaccines widely available and virtually free.   They are spending our hard-earned money to ‘educate’ us that the flu vaccine should be taken by all, from babies to the elderly, and that it will save many thousands of lives.  Furthermore, they have begun a major public relations blitz criticizing those of us that give a differing opinion on the value of these vaccines.

Let’s look at some of their claims and the research behind them.  The U.S. government and pretty much all mainstream groups claim that the flu shot prevents the flu in those that get the vaccine.  However, the flu shots have not been shown to be effective in healthy babies, children with asthma, adults, and the elderly. 

In Children:  A review of 51 studies which included more than 294,000 children found “no evidence that injecting children 6-24 months of age with a flu shot was any more effective than placebo.  In children over two years of age, it was only effective 33% of the time in preventing the flu. (Chochrane Database of Systemic Reviews 2.  2008).

In asthmatic children, the flu shot was found to not provide any benefit in preventing asthma exacerbations.  The authors of this study compared 400 asthmatic children who were vaccinated with a similar number of asthmatic children who were not vaccinated.  They found no difference between emergency visits, clinic visits, or hospitalizations in the vaccinated versus the non-vaccinated group.  (Arch. Dis. Child.  2004.  Aug;89(8):734-5).     If this study wasn’t enough to get your attention a new study found that “Children who get the flu vaccine are three times more at risk for hospitalization than children who do not get the flu vaccine.”  (American Thoracic Society 105^th International Conference, May 15-20, 2009, San Diego, CA.).

According the CDC, the elderly are a population at increased risk for acquiring the flu and developing complications of the flu.  In nursing homes or for the elderly living in the community, researchers found the flu shot was ineffective for preventing the flu.   (Chochrane Databse of Systemic Reviews. 3(2006).  In fact, the flu shot has never been shown to lower the rate of mortality from the flu in any population, including the elderly. 

Clearly, there is NO reason to get the flu shot.  It doesn’t prevent the flu and has not been shown to prevent complications from the flu. 

This article used information from “The Truth About The Flu Shot” informational sheet from Dr. Sherry Tenpenny.  She has been lecturing about the problems with vaccines for years.  More information about the flu vaccine can be found at www.drTenpenny.com.