FLU SHOT? MAYBE NOT.
With cold and flu season fast approaching, the signs are everywhere. Pharmacies touting flu vaccinations, doctors asking, “Have you had your flu shot yet?” and foreboding communicates directed specifically to vulnerable populations such as the elderly, young children or anyone with immunosuppression. The message is clear: Get Your Flu Shot Now.
But wait, have you ever wondered how effective flu shots are? Today, in honor of flu season, I’m going to provide several reasons why you should NOT get that shot.
First, let’s look at the premise of a vaccination. Vaccination is the administration of antigenic (foreign) material to stimulate an individual’s immune system to develop adaptive immunity to a pathogen. For a flu shot, this means that the antigenic material (a little bit of the flu) is introduced through a needle into your body, which then creates antibodies to protect you from said flu. For it to really work, the vaccine needs to be matched to the strain of flu most prevalent that year. There are potentially thousands of variations of flu, primarily because there are chemical combinations of hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA) proteins. The H and the N determine what the specific strain of flu is called. With so many variations, researchers might predict the wrong strain, as in 2015 when the vaccine was only 18% effective on the dominant strain of flu (H3N2). Also, flu viruses are constantly mutating, becoming different with each iteration, sometimes dramatically which happened in 2009 when an H1N1 virus with a new combination of genes emerged, and caused a pandemic. So, think twice about having a strain of flu injected into your body – it may not be the “right” one for this year’s strain, or the virus may have already transmuted to cause a new strain from which you aren’t protected.
Another reason you may reconsider flu vaccination…
Do you know what’s IN that syringe? Here’s a list of the flu vaccines other ingredients.
Ethylene glycol – otherwise known as anti-freeze.
Phenol – also called carbolic acid and used as a disinfectant or dye.
Formaldehyde – a known cancer-causing agent.
Aluminum – an additive to promote the antibody response that is associated with Alzheimer’s disease, seizures and cancer production in laboratory mice.
Thimerosal – a mercury-based disinfectant/preservative which can result in brain injury and autoimmune disease.
This last chemical, thimerosal, has enough mercury to expose a person to 25 micrograms of mercury in one day. According to the FDA and EPA, the maximum mercury exposure for the average six-month old should be no more than 7/10 of ONE microgram of mercury in one day. Mercury can cause failing memory in adults, neurological disorders and kidney disorders. I can’t speak for you, but my brain, my memory and my kidneys are parts of me, and my patients, that I very much prefer to keep intact.
The final reason to reconsider your flu vaccine are the side effects. The flu vaccine may give you the flu, especially if you are in a vulnerable population or have other disease states which affect your immune system. There is a real danger for anyone allergic to eggs, poultry or feathers because many flu vaccines are grown using eggs. Last, the flu vaccine can cause temporary neurological disorders like encephalopathy, optic neuritis, partial face paralysis and brachial plexus neuropathy.
Chiropractic care, whole food supplements, herbals and homeopathic remedies can boost your immune system to help keep you healthy all year long. If you’re interested in walking away from the needle and using alternative medicine and nutrition, contact me. My mission at Authentic Health LLC is to coach, advise, teach and promote healing with advanced nutritional protocols aimed toward optimal health for my patients, doctors and their practices, near or far.
I’d love to help you.
