The flu has been getting a lot of media attention lately, as emergency rooms are filled with sick patients and pharmacies are running out of the flu vaccine.
There are two reasons NOT to get the flu vaccine:
1. Each year the flu vaccine is actually developed based on what researchers think will be prevalent.
WebMD explains:
Each year, the flu vaccine contains several different kinds of the virus. The strains chosen are the ones that researchers say are most likely to show up that year.
The mainstream media has featured many ill individuals who did receive the flu vaccination but are still very sick. Apparently, they were not protected from the strain that is prevalent currently.
2. Most flu shots contain mercury.
Mercury in the form of thimerosal is used as a preservative in most flu shots. This is the same thimerosal that was removed from childhood vaccines in the United States that has caused autism like symptoms in primates, even though the medical community does not support is correlation. Regardless scientific proof of autism and other potential negative side effects, mercury was removed from childhood vaccines in 2001. The CDC explains:
2001
Except for influenza (flu), thimerosal is removed from or reduced in all vaccines routinely recommended for children 6 years of age and under manufactured for the U.S. market.October 1. IOM’s Immunization Safety Review Committee issues a report concluding there is not enough evidence to disprove claims that thimerosal in childhood vaccines causes autism, attention deficit hypersensitivity disorder, or speech or language delay.
May 5. A risk assessment of thimerosal use in childhood vaccines finds no evidence of harm from the use of thimerosal as a preservative, other than redness and swelling at the injection site…
2004
May 28. ACIP recommends that children between the ages of 6 and 23 months routinely receive an inactivated influenza (flu) vaccine. ACIP does not recommend using the thimerosal-free flu vaccine over the thimerosal-containing flu vaccine, and states that the benefits of flu vaccination outweigh any risk from thimerosal exposure.
There are four types of flu vaccine, and most of them contain thimerosal. Again, we refer to the CDC:
Do the 2012-2013 seasonal flu vaccines contain thimerosal?
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved several formulations of the seasonal flu vaccine, including multi-dose vials and single-dose units. (See Table of Approved Influenza Vaccines for the U.S. 2012–2013 Season.) Since seasonal influenza vaccine is produced in large quantities for annual immunization campaigns, some of the vaccine is produced in multi-dose vials, and contains thimerosal to safeguard against possible contamination of the vial once it is opened.
The single-dose units are made without thimerosal as a preservative because they are intended to be opened and used only once. Additionally, the live-attenuated version of the vaccine (the nasal spray vaccine), is produced in single-dose units and does not contain thimerosal.
It is possible to receive the flu vaccine without mercury, and it is always good advice to speak with your doctor, rather than rely on a blog such as this, for medical advice. Personally, I would rather take my chances with the flu than be exposed to chemicals, such as mercury, as well as gamble on the effectiveness of the vaccine. That being said, people do die from the flu. Typically, they are very young or very old or have a compromised immune system from another illness. A healthy person will suffer from the flu, but they will survive.
Furthermore, many people experience flu like symptoms after receiving the flu vaccine.
I am on the tail end of the flu. It has lasted for two weeks! I don’t think it is the same strain featured on the news, as my fever has not been super high, but I have been suffering.
I have never had a flu shot. Of my friends and family that do get vaccinated, they still get sick just as much as my family.
If you want to protect your family from the flu, the best natural methods are:
- Get plenty of rest
- Stay hydrated
- Eat whole foods (7-10 servings organic fruit and vegetables)
- Plenty of Vitamin D!
- Wash your hands!
As a healthy adult, I have not felt the need to get a flu shot. I have not gotten a bad flu myself, but have recovered from a minor flu with a lot of rest, fluids and herbs/vitamins. If people are looking for alternative ways to prevent the flu, Dr. Marcey Shapiro has some great ideas: http://marceyshapiromd.com/publications/newsletter/cold-and-flu-prevention.html
“Most Flu Shots Contains …” The first thing that a child learn about grammar is that a sentence must have a subject and a verb. The second is that the subject and verb must agree. The above headline suggests that the writer didn’t get to number two. Our children deserve better.
This article has a seriously faulty analysis. The article starts with a quantity of mercury (25 micrograms), converts it to a percentage, then compares that percentage to the safe percentage limits for massive volumes, such as hazardous waste. The correct way to do this analysis is compare the 25 micrograms to the allowed annual quantity in micrograms (not %) exposure from things like hazardous waste or other environmental sources. Comparing percentages the way it is done in the article, to argue whether the exposure is acceptable or not, makes absolutely no sense.
More anti-vaccine drivel. Equating the continuous acceptable exposure level to a one time dosage is ridiculous and to do so with ethyl mercury vs. methyl mercury shows a complete lack of understanding of basic chemistry. But yes, by all means go to infowars, the loon Alex Jones is surely a reliable source for info. Better yet go to “DR” Tenpenny’s site, she will be only too willing to sell you her custom treatment that’s worthless. Not to mention she’s nine pennies short of being sane, but why believe me look it up. This recommendation to not get the flu shot this year should get you criminally charged if there was any justice in the world. This years flu vaccine is effective against the strain that is KILLING children. Have you no shame at all?
Black Light while you make of Alex Jones I do believe he is a schill though he does give some good information Now on the other hand Dr. TenPenny Ihave been to her for my daughters problems that the metro-Health system seemed to make her worse. Dr. TenPenny gave my daughter natural healing suggestions that for the most part cured my daughter of her life long problems. Be careful who you attack.
You’re what’s wrong with this country. Your research is incorrect and scare tactics like yours are the reason why people refuse to vaccinate their children (which a large part of the reason why we now have a whooping cough epidemic).
I did not take the time to dissect the authors sentence structure nor did I record her findings on the PPB of each product. What I did do was to keep this topic in the back of my mind to later go do my own research on the safety of taking shots that contain thimerosal. To say that the author should be charged as a criminal for recommending to not receive the vaccine is ridiculous. I have only had the vaccine twice in my life becasue I was forced to in the military. Both times I had sever flu like symptoms within a few days. That was back in the 80’s. Since then I have averaged getting the real flu about once every three years. I have not died yet.
Final point is if you want the shot then by all means get one and if you don’t then don’t. It’s as simple as that.
I don’t know what to think anymore…I mean I do think the vaccines are somehow a way for the government to get more cash and many times they don’t work (I had a flu shot in July 2012, and still got very sick a few weeks later, me and my family)… but I also think they are useful. I’m so confused about the whole situation that I’d rather not to think more about it. All I’m going to do is to tell my mother that the vaccines contain mercury, that’s it. I’m so tired of all of this, it’s frustrating!
Interesting that the scientific community supports the neurotoxicity of Thimerosal but the medical community does not. Medical community has conflict of interest with Big Pharma.
First, I’m a medical student finishing up my 4th year of medical school and have personally seen the devastation that can be caused by the flu. Thousands of people die from the flu every year, including healthy children and adults. The flu vaccine is an excellent way to protect yourself from the flu.
Second, the amount of thimerosal in a single vaccine contains no more mercury than you have probably already consumed in your drinking water this week. Why? Because part per billion is a measure of concentration, not quantity. You do not drink 2 liters of flu vaccine, you take 0.0005 liters of flu vaccine (.5mL). This may contain 25 micrograms of thimerosol of which mercury is 50% by weight, therefore, a single flu shot contains less than 12.5 micrograms of mercury, or about the same amount that you would probably get by drinking 6-10L of water (which you’ve probably already consumed this week, if you’re drinking lots of water . . . as this article recommends).
I love how people will say things like this and scare the bejesus out of everyone. We had Polio, smallpox, whooping cough licked then Jenni Macarthy steps in and starts touting this is why we have an issue with Autism in the country. Only to find out that after thermerisol was removed from vaccines there was NO REDUCTION in the numbers of autism. Talk about a hate crime against kids.
The actual rebuttals are excellent, due to the fact that we are to be concerned about TOTAL mercury ingested not %’s. Mercury is a cumulative toxin, so one flu shot is equivalent to a couple tuna sandwiches…
What has the potential to cause REAL death and destruction is the flu… Thank God for the scientists who discovered the flu vaccine, as they are LIFE SAVERS.
“The Sky is Falling” nonsense like this article acutally can lead someone to make a decision that could possibly lead to death from a very preventable disease.
Last October, 2013 I had a bad reaction to the flu shot, I dropped onto the ground while walking and fell and broke my humerus, and have been paying 4 it all year……..I said there was poison in that shot and I was right, after watching the Dr. Oz show, and it said what they don’t want you to know about what is in the flu shot, and I watched and I am sure that is what happened to me last Oct, I will never take another shot this year, if I do it will be the one with out the one with mercury. My body has never been the same all year.