Vaccines, Kids, the Elderly and Avoiding the Flu
By Dr. Sherri J. Tenpenny
Over the last few months, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), along with numerous city and state health departments, have been doggedly reminding the public to get flu shots. But are flu shots really necessary? Are they effective? Understanding more about the flu and flu vaccines will help you make informed decisions, now and in the future.
What is the flu?
The flu is a respiratory disease caused by an influenza virus. Compared with the adenovirus, which causes the common cold, influenza viruses are often associated with more severe symptoms. The viral particles bind to the surface of the respiratory tract and then bury themselves into the cells of the lungs. Following an incubation period of about 48 hours, flu symptoms that abruptly appear include cough, fever, chills and body aches.
Picking the virus
Each year, a vaccine containing three influenza viruses is developed. Researchers select the viruses based on those prevalent during the previous flu season in China, Australia and Southeast Asia. The CDC admits that the viruses for the new vaccine are selected by an “educated guess” because there is no definitive way to determine which strains will reach the U.S. during our flu season.
What's in a flu shot?
Initially, the influenza viruses are grown in eggs. During the manufacturing process, antibiotics are often added to kill stray bacteria found in the mixture. The final solution contains small amounts of the following additives: Triton X-100 (a detergent); polysorbate 80 (an allergen that can cause anaphylaxis); gelatin (which can cause allergic reactions); formaldehyde (a known carcinogen) and residual egg proteins. In addition, many flu shots still contain thimerosal, a preservative that contains mercury. The flu vaccine can also contain chicken viruses that were in the eggs in which flu-shot viruses were incubated. Ultimately, what is coming through the needle can have serious consequences.
Will the shot protect me?
There are no guarantees that the three viruses selected for the vaccine will be the strains circulating during the flu season. Moreover, more than 85 percent of flu-like symptoms are not caused by influenza viruses but by other viruses and bacteria not covered by the flu vaccine. Called “influenza-like illnesses,” the CDC admits that a person can get the flu shot but still get the flu.
Targeting the elderly
The CDC recommends the flu vaccine to persons aged 65 and older, particularly for those with medical conditions who could experience serious complications from the flu. In September 2005, The New York Times published a ground-breaking report of a review published by the Cochrane Collabor-ation, an international consortium of scien-tists who perform systematic reviews of research data. The group reviewed 64 existing studies on the effectiveness of the flu vaccine published over 96 flu seasons. The authors concluded that its effectiveness – particularly in the elderly – was “wildly overstated,” and the runaway 100-percent protection touted by its proponents was nowhere to be seen.
Flu shots for healthy adults
In January 2006, the Cochrane Collaboration released another report that evaluated the effectiveness of vaccinating healthy middle-aged adults and found the results equally as dismal. Twenty-five studies involving nearly 60,000 people were included in the analysis. Overall, vaccination reduced the risk of influenza by only six percent and reduced the average number of missed work days by a negligible 0.16 days over those who had not been vaccinated. The reviewers concluded that the benefits of universal immunization of healthy adults were not supported by the information in the medical literature.
The flu shot and kids
The Cochrane Collaboration released a third report, also in January 2006, that concluded there was no evidence that injecting children 6 to 23 months of age with the influenza vaccine was any more effective than injecting them with a placebo to prevent the flu. After a review of 51 studies involving more than 260,000 children, including 17 papers translated from Russian, the study concluded that mandates to vaccinate babies are based on very little evidence that the shot will keep them healthy during the flu season.
Furthermore, the reviewers found no evidence to back claims that vaccines prevent deaths from influenza or other serious complications in babies. As for “safety studies,” essentially none existed. “We were astonished to find only one safety study of inactivated vaccine in children under 2 years of age; that was carried out nearly 30 years ago and only in 35 children,” stated study co-author of the Cochrane Review, Dr. Thomas Jefferson.
What to do instead
If you take proper care of your body, you will decrease your chances of falling prey to the flu. The simplest, most effective ways to prevent the flu are: Wash your hands often, avoid refined carbohydrates that suppress the im-mune system, exer-cise regularly and get adequate sleep. Supplements such as Sambocol™ (elder-berry extract), Vita-min C and zinc can boost your immune system during the flu season.
If you come down with flu-like symptoms, in addition to rest and fluids, the best treatment is a homeopathic medication called oscillococcinum, the number-one flu medication in Europe. Clinical trials have shown that when it is taken at the first sign of flu, 63 percent of oscillo users exhibited improvement within 48 hours. There are no side effects and no drug interactions, so it is safe and wise to keep a box on hand. If this product is not available at your local health food store, it is readily available through the Internet.
Although flu shots are government en-dorsed and federally funded, the greatest benefit seems to go to the companies making them and the medical personnel who administer them. Keep yourself healthy, and remember that health does not come through a needle.
Sherri J. Tenpenny, D.O. is the director and founder of OsteoMed II, a clinic currently located in Middleburg Heights, Ohio. Since 1996, the clinic has served patients from 29 states and five foreign countries. Dr. Tenpenny is respected as one of the country's most knowledgeable and outspoken physicians regarding the impact of vaccines on health. For more information, or to make an appointment, please go to www.Osteomed.com
