Let’s talk about flu shot facts.
One, two, three, four little boys fall prey to the flu. I begin to cough. The congestion descends upon like a vice. I feel a little queasy and my temperature begins to rise, I wonder if maybe I should have taken our pediatrician up on her suggestion to get the flu shot.
She and the nurse both asked us about it when we were in for the well-child visit. I declined.
I received not one but two phone calls from her office after that visit asking me if I changed my mind. Nope.
But now I was wondering if I made a mistake…
When I made the decision to decline the flu vaccine, it wasn’t based on any great research that I had done. As I told my husband, why would I get a vaccine for the flu? That just seems silly. It’s the flu. You get it and get over it. No big deal, right? Anyone who has taken care of four sick little boys while being sick yourself will tell you that it’s certainly not fun. Yes, I found out that year just how not-fun it was.
Selective Vaccination
I’m a selective vaccinator. That means, we don’t get every single vaccine that our doctor recommends (there are a lot of them these days), but we do get some of them. When making my decisions on whether or not to vaccinate I want to know: do the benefits out-weight the drawbacks and risks.
Despite what the medical community may say, there are risks for every single vaccination you put in your body. To vaccinate or not to vaccinate is not a simple cut-and-dry issue. It’s a complex, multi-faceted issue that involves doing your homework.
Flu Shot Facts: What is the Flu Vaccine?
There are two major types of flu vaccine: (1) the nasal inhalation virus (a living but weakened form of the virus), and (2) the injection (a killed virus). When the vaccine enters your body, your body creates anti-bodies to the different types of viruses that were introduced in the vaccine. This gives you protection to those virus types.
It is important to emphasize, that individuals receiving the vaccine will only be protected from the strains of viruses they received in the vaccination. While there are literally, thousands of strains of the influenza virus, a flu shot will only protect against 3 or 4 (depending on whether you receive a trivalent or quadrivalent vaccination). It’s also important to understand that the influenza virus is constantly mutating to create new strains.
Fact #1: The flu vaccine will protect you from only 3-4 of the potential thousands of flu strains. Don’t let the “experts” fool you. This is nothing more than a guessing game. They really have no good way to tell which strains are the best ones to vaccinate against.
Flu Vaccine Recommendations & Death Rates
If you’ve ever checked out the information on the Center for Disease Control’s website, you’ll notice that they refer to flu as if it’s reached epidemic proportions—a virus that is a major killer. It’s no wonder that the CDC currently recommends:
- Everyone 6 months of age and older receive the vaccine
- Individuals should receive the flu vaccine as soon as it becomes available
Each year the CDC claims tens of thousands of individuals die from the flu. It’s quite alarming when taken at face value. If this is the case, of course, shouldn’t we all get vaccinated? I’ve never personally known someone who’s died from the flu, but if tens of thousands of people do each year, it’s just a matter of time, right?
Here’s a funny thing about some of these statistics: sometimes you need to read the fine print. Sometimes, you need to consider of the source. Do you think the vaccine makers are the best source or independently funded researchers? Probably not. (Throughout this post, I try to mainly focus on research that has been independently funded, but some vaccinator funded research is difficult to avoid since it’s so prevalent.)
In Are US Flu Death Figures More PR than Science?, an aptly named article in the British Journal of Medicine, the author reports:
“[According to CDC statistics], ‘influenza and pneumonia’ took 62,034 lives in 2001—61,777 of which were attributable to pneumonia and 257 to flu, and in only 18 cases was the flu virus positively identified.”1
Do you see what the CDC did?
- They combined both Influenza and Pneumonia deaths so as to inflate the numbers and make it look like more of a problem than it was.
- They estimated what the flu related deaths are and did not report on the actual number, which was 18.
Fact #2: The statistics that the CDC throws around regarding death from influenza are grossly exaggerated. Furthermore, much of the research out there has been funded by the vaccine makers—this is problematic for obvious reasons.
Flu Shot Facts: What’s in a Flu Vaccine?
Despite the fact that the CDC’s death numbers are grossly inflated and that the vaccine only prevents 3-4 of the flu strains, I don’t believe that alone is reason to discount the flu vaccine. We need to look further at flu shot facts, such as the actual ingredients of the vaccine. What are you putting in your body, besides the virus (be it living or dead)?
Flu Shot Ingredients
Below is a break down of each of the ingredients found in the flu shot. To make an informed decision, it’s important to know what the ingredients are that we’re considering putting into our bodies. What are they there for? What is the impact they have on the body?
Most of the preservatives used are known to be toxic and some are recognized carcinogens listed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Cell Cultures: Egg protein is used to grow the flu virus, so there is enough to make the vaccine. Obviously, if you have an allergy to eggs you should avoid getting the flu vaccine.
Stabilizers: Sucrose, gelatin, or polysorbate 80 are used to stabalize the vaccines for transportation and storage. Polysorbate 80 can be quite a problematic ingredient. It is used to treat chronic kidney failure, so can be quite harsh on the liver. It’s also been drug been used to help drugs pass through the blood-brain barrier. And possibly most disturbing, is a study which reports polysorbate 80 causes “severe non-immunologic anaphylactoid reactions.”2 Yikes!
Adjuvants: Aluminum salts are added to the vaccine in order to stimulate an immune response to the killed virus. The problem is that aluminum is a known neurotoxin. That means, it is toxic to your brain and exposure has been linked to Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.3
Inactivating ingredient: Formaldehyde is added to the vaccine during the production process in order to prevent bacterial contamination. Formaldehyde is a pretty strong disinfectant and is listed as a human carcinogen by the National Toxicology Program.4
Preservatives: Thimerosal (mercury) is added to multi-dose vials of the flu shot. It’s purpose is to prevent contamination, because each time a needle enters the vial there is a risk of exposure to impurities. Thimerosal is quite a controversial ingredient and rightfully so. It is mercury, a toxic heavy-metal. It has been linked to the suppression of the immune system resulting in systemic inflammation and development of autoimmune diseases.5 6 Because of the negative impact of thimerosal, some vaccine manufacturers have begun to create thimerosal-free vaccines which are available in limited quantities.
Antibiotics: Penicillin or other sulfa drugs are added to the vaccines in order to prevent bacterial contamination. If you have an allergy to any sulfa drugs, it’s wise to skip the flu shot.
Fact #3: There are toxic ingredients in the flu vaccine. Make no mistake, these ingredients place strain on your body. This has a number of implications. One of the more important ones, there can be long-term implications of putting these toxins in your body year after year.
Flu Shot Side Effects
Adverse Reactions. All drugs, surgeries, and vaccines have them, but do we pay much attention to them? Considering this: there are more claims submitted to the Vaccine Injury Compensation program about the flu vaccine than any other vaccines.7
There are many immediate adverse reaction listed in the vaccine inserts, they range from mild to severe. Some of the fairly common side effects include: pain (64%), fever (29%), fatigue (20%), headaches (26%), nausea/vomiting (12%), runny nose/nasal congestion, (58%), decreased appetite, (21%), and more (percentages vary depending on the specific vaccinations). Did you see those percentages? Those aren’t what I would call “rare” side effects.
There are also more serious, albeit rare, side effects for which no percentages are given. They include: narcolepsy, seizures, tachycardia, swelling of the mouth, throat, or tongue, vertigo, injection site abscess, injection site cellulitis, facial palsy, neuropathy, respiratory distress, vasculitis, facial swelling, chest pain, and the list goes on and on. Oh, also there is increased incidence of fever and ferbile seizures in children 5 and under. That’s pretty scary, if you ask me.
Flu shots that contain live viruses are capable of actually causing side-effects identical to the flu.
In addition to these side effects, you also need to be on the look out for allergic reactions. As mentioned earlier, if you have allergies to antibiotics or eggs the flu shot should definitely be avoided!
You can check out vaccine inserts here for a full listing of side-effects.
Fact #4: There are a lot of fairly common side effects individuals experience from the flu shot. It’s important to be aware of these. There are also some very serious side effects that can cause long-term damage or death. Additionally, those who are allergic to eggs or antibiotics should skip the flu shot.
Flu Shot Facts: Flu Shots & Your Immune System
Another serious implication of the flu vaccine is it’s impact on the immune system. The toxins in the vaccine weaken the immune system.
Not only this, but the Journal of Virology found the immune systems of children who have been vaccinated against seasonal flu strains are weakened, making them more susceptible to becoming infected with flu strains not included in the vaccine.8 T cells are essential for immunity. This study found that the T cell response was absent in the vaccinated children.
Fact #5: The flu shot may help you avoid some strains of the flu virus, but it will also likely decrease your ability to fight off other strains of the flu virus along with other infections.
Flu Shot Facts: Safety Studies
There are large groups of the population for which there have been no safety studies done. Considering the fact that the CDC recommends the vaccination for everyone over the age of 6 months is a bit disturbing to me.
There have been no controlled studies in women who are pregnant, nursing, and children under 3 years old. The flu vaccine insert claims:
“Unknown whether it’s excreted in human breast milk.”
“Safety has not been established for children under 3 years old.”
“There are, however, no adequate and well-controlled studies in pregnant women…should be given to a pregnant woman only if clearly needed.”
This doesn’t apply to just one or two vaccines, you see pretty much the exact same wording on all of the vaccine inserts.
Fact #6: There have been no studies to indicate whether vaccines are safe for children under 3, or pregnant or nursing moms. Use extra caution if you’re in one of these groups!
Effectiveness of the Flu Shot
Is the flu shot effective in decreasing incidence of the flu? That is the million dollar question, right? If it’s not effective, then none of this really matters. If it’s highly effective, well, everything we just talked about is a bit more interesting.
Please note, I have not read every single journal article about this. I read a number of journals that concluded that the flu vaccine was quite effective, but many of those were sponsored by the flu vaccine makers. I was more interested in what researchers who were not getting paid by the vaccine industry had to say about the flu shot. I placed most of my focus on meta-analysis: journal articles that looked at the results of numerous studies. Below I’ve given some excerpts of some of the most poignant findings on flu shot facts.
A review of the current research on the flu vaccine concluded:
“…the available evidence is of poor quality and provides no guidance regarding the safety, efficacy, or effectiveness of influenza vaccines for people aged 65 or older.”9
This same article goes on to explain that it is rare that the upcoming seasonal flu strain is ever predicted with any accuracy. On the rare occurrence when it is matched correctly, however, 100 people need to be vaccinated to avoid one set of influenza symptoms, and there is no evidence that vaccines affect complications (such as pneumonia) or transmission.
Another review of over 40 studies, concluded:
“…it is clear that the performance of the vaccines in healthy adults is nothing to get excited about. On average, perhaps 1 adult out of 100 vaccinated will get influenza symptoms compared to 2 out of 100 in the unvaccinated group. To put it another way we need to vaccinate 100 healthy adults to prevent one set of symptoms. However, our Cochrane review found no credible evidence that there is an effect against complications such as pneumonia or death.”10
Woah. So, said another way, if you do get the vaccine, you have a 1% chance of getting the flu. If you don’t get the vaccine, you have a whopping 2% chance of getting the flu. Doesn’t sound like too much of a difference to me.
Another meta-analysis found even less of an impact from vaccines. They reported an 8.5% flu risk for those who had been vaccinated and an 8.9% risk for those who have been unvaccinated.
Finally, a meta-analysis published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases, declared,
“There are no randomized controlled trials showing efficacy of TIV (the inactive flu virus) in people aged 2-17 years or adults aged 65 and older. For LAIV (the live flu virus), there are no randomized controlled trials showing efficacy in people aged 8-59.”11
Fact #7: There is little support that flu vaccine is effective. At best it only ever-so-slightly lowers your chances of getting the 3-4 strains of the flu virus it vaccinates against.
Mortality Rates
Whether or not the flu vaccine has a real impact on mortality is of great significance. If we can decrease mortality connected to the flu, that would be win, right? The research all pretty much says the same thing.12 13 14 15
Despite increased rates of influenza vaccinations, there has not been a decline in influenza related mortality since 1980 (when the flu shot became readily available). The American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, said it best, “Both the rates of flu infection and death have increased in people 65 years and older, and they continue to increase as vaccine coverage becomes more widespread.”
Fact #8: Millions more people are getting the flu vaccine, but there is no evidence that there has been a decrease in flu related mortality. In fact, it appears the more people get the vaccine, the higher the death rates become in the elderly.
If you made it this far, kudos to you for really taking the time to read and think about this flu vaccine topic seriously. Whether you come to the same conclusions as I do or not, I’d encourage you to earnestly consider this topic before just got along with whatever your healthcare provider suggests. Are we just taking what the vaccine makers and government officials saying at their word? Or are we really digging into the research to see if what they are reporting is based on good solid research?
So, back to the original question. Should I have taken my doctor up on her suggestion to get the flu shot? No, I’m convinced that certainly wouldn’t have been the best option. Could we have avoided getting the flu? Maybe. Maybe not. But there are far greater things at stake that could have long-term health implications for my family.
Do you vaccinate or not vaccinate for the flu? What have been the most important factors to you in this decision?
More Articles about the Flu
We have some more posts in this series on the flu vaccine:
- 7 Steps to Avoiding the Flu Without a Shot
- The Flu Shot’s Not Enough: How to Make it More Effective (plus some ways to detox!)
- Stop the Stomach Flu in it’s Tracks: Home Remedies that Work
Sources:
- Are US flu death figures more PR than science?
- Polysorbate 80 in medical products and nonimmunologic anaphylactoid reactions.
- Link between Aluminum and the Pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s Disease: The Integration of the Aluminum and Amyloid Cascade Hypotheses
- 13th Report on Carcinogens (RoC)
- Mercury exposure, serum antinuclear/antinucleolar antibodies, and serum cytokine levels in mining populations in Amazonian Brazil: A cross-sectional study
- Immunosuppressive and autoimmune effects of thimerosal in mice.
- Influenza: National Vaccine Information Center
- Annual vaccination against influenza virus hampers development of virus-specific CD8⁺ T cell immunity in children.
- Vaccines for preventing influenza in healthy children
- Influenzae Reviewer, Cochrane Acute Respiratory Infections Group and Cochrane Vaccines Field
- Efficacy and effectiveness of influenza vaccines: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
- Mortality Reduction with Influenza Vaccine in Patients with Pneumonia Outside “Flu” Season
- Mortality benefits of influenza vaccination in elderly people: an ongoing controversy
- Age-Associated Change in the Frequency of Memory CD4+ T Cells Impairs Long Term CD4+ T Cell Responses to Influenza Vaccine
- Influenza vaccination and mortality benefits: New insights, new opportunities
Interesting info about the “thousands” who are claimed to have the flu when really they had pneumonia and only 18 had the flu. We don’t get the flu shot in our family. My husband was required to get the shot several years ago. He had a reaction–flu like symptoms for a few days. In the years when he doesn’t vaccinate, he doesn’t get the flu. In 2010, my daughter was in the 4th grade. There was a huge push to get the flu vaccine for all the kids in school. They had nurses come to the school to give everyone the mist or they could see their doctor for the shot if they preferred. The flu was hard-hitting that year and they ended up with such an outbreak that they had to close down the school for a few days. Out of my daughter’s class, 15 of the 17 students, including the student she shared a table with came down with the flu. However my daughter and the only other student who did not get the vaccine did not come down with the flu. So I’m just not seeing the value in getting the flu shot every year. If one of us worked in a setting where we were exposed to flu patients every day, I might think differently? I’m not sure. I would have to re-evaluate.
Very interesting story about your daughter’s school. There is a lot of anecdotal evidence. It seems many have stories of either, “I got the flu shot every year and never got the flu until the year I skipped it” or “the only time I ever got the flu was the years I got the flu shot.” I realize these stories can go both ways and it’s always so interesting to hear each person’s experience. But, it was very enlightening to really wade through the research and see what it actually said. I know without any doubt, the flu shot is not for our family. The very, very slight decrease in probability that we would get the flu just isn’t worth all the toxins we’d be putting in our bodies.
This is a great post!!! Very objective! Looking forward to the next two posts in this series!
Thanks Jennifer!
Our 6 year old has arthritis – which means his immune system is already problematic. He takes medicines to control the arthritis that suppress it even further.
Our 4 year old had an egg allergy as an infant (he eats eggs now on occasion, but we don’t do tons of those).
Aside from those problems with this particular vaccine, I am a little leary of the vaccine industry and their agenda. I am trying to weigh the decision for each vax. Thanks for sharing this and easing our decision to (again) skip the flu shot!
You’re welcome Jennifer. It really can be difficult to wade through all of the research and propaganda to figure it all out.
I’m allergic to sulfa drugs and I’ve never been asked about the allergy when getting a shot. I’m going to have to pay much closer attention, especially since the sulfa allergy seems to run in our family. I don’t want my kids having a reaction.
Thanks for the great information!
Today I am having a reaction to the flu vaccine. I’m allergic to sulpha meds. The site is swollen, red, hot, and itchy still at 30 hours post vaccine. I also had a severe reaction to shingles vaccine! Shoulder to elbow swollen, HOT, painful and itchy. The reaction lasted 3.5 weeks. Doctors want anyone over 65 to get a second vaccine. I’m not taking the risk and saying no to future flu vaccine. All paperwork includes neomycin. I’m allergic to it. Thanks for all your information.
Awesome research and information! Thank you so much for posting this. It is so refreshing to know there are moms like me who have the same questions I do when it comes to our children’s safety. And even more reassuring to find that others have come to the same conclusions that I have. The flu is a nasty thing to have to go through for anyone. We’ve all experienced it. I’ve experienced it countless times over the course of my life. But to be honest, the one and only year I received a flu shot I was the sickest I had ever been because I had a terrible reaction to it. I don’t want to go through that ever again and I can’t in good conscience do that to my kids, especially when weighing the risks against the effectiveness. I’m not interested in taking the chances to see if my kids may or may not have a reaction. To me, it’s not worth purposely injecting them with something harmful for fear that they might get the flu. I’m certainly not against doctors or medicine and I’m thankful for what vaccines have done in eliminating diseases. But when it comes to the flu, I trust God more than I do the cdc.
Yes, there are many, many reasons I’m thankful for modern medicine! Doctors and medications have done much to help the world, but that doesn’t mean we should turn off our brains and just take the doctors word for it no matter what they say. It’s so important we are our own health advocates!
Another great post! Very thorough & I love that you pointed out the discrepancy in grouping pneumonia and flu rates together… that’s so deceptive of them! Love the graphic too… pinning it now! 🙂
Thank you! 🙂 I was really flabbergasted by grouping pneumonia and flu together!
We do not get every vaccine either, and when we get one I am strict about only one injection at a time. We sometimes get the flu and sometimes we don’t. I have only gotten the flu shot once, got my worst ever flu. My kids have never gotten the flu shot or spray. Your article says everthing I have expressed to family, friends, and our dr, only u researched it and have the numbers to back up your statements. Thank you for writing this article.
You’re welcome! Hopefully the post will come in helpful if any of your friends or family give you a hard time – you can send them over to read more about the research. It’s my hope this post will help individuals make good educated decisions that are right for their families.
Thank you so much for this info. Years ago, as a Registered Nurse, I had the flu shot, and had the flu no less than 10 times that year. I vowed after that, to never have the shot again, or anyone else in my family. My husband did a nursing course in hospital, and was told he needed to have the Hep B shot, and the flu shot was recommended. He said he would have the Hep B shot but was undecided about the flu shot. The vaccine nurse gave him the flu shot, then turned around and said, “I just gave you the flu shot, are you ready for the Hep B shot?” (I think this is “assault”, in modern terms). Being an obedient staff member, he had the Hep B shot as well, both in the same arm. Shortly after these shots he got the flu very badly, but worse was to come. They seem to have accelerated his very severe cervical myelopathy (overgrowing osteoarthritis in his spinal vertebrae, causing his spinal cord to be completely crushed), which less than a year later required urgent surgery, to prevent him becoming a paraplegic. His life has never been the same, he lives in constant severe pain, is dependant on heavy-duty painkillers, and can’t do much anymore, despite us trying to help restore his health naturally. This has been going on since 2007-8.
Thanks very much for the info re sulfa drugs and flu shots. I became allergic to sulfa drugs (anaphylaxis allergy), last year, when I was bitten by a horse fly, which got infected, so I was put on sulfa antibiotics, which I got an anaphylactic allergic reaction to. Taken the best part of 12-18 months to recover, and still improving. Now I can refuse politely the flu shot, as I am allergic to its contained sulfa drugs. I didn’t know how I was going to get around it if it was compulsory in the future.
What a nightmare Heidi! I’m so terribly sorry to hear what happened to your husband. I would agree that it is assault. I assume you suspect the catalysts of this acceleration was the vaccines. I know many don’t understand that there can be very, very serious implications of receiving vaccines particularly for those who are already suffering from disease. Thank you for sharing your story.
I’m glad this article has provided you a way to be able to politely refuse the flu shot. My guess is, that in the coming months and years it will become compulsory for more and more individuals. I know there are many places already in the healthcare industry that flu shots are mandatory. I even know of someone who lost her job because she refused the flu shot. It’s a very unfortunate state of things when someone can mandate that others receive an injection.
Great post, thank you!
You’re welcome!
I appreciate that you are committed to sharing facts with your readers! Please look at this link to correct your fact #6. Thank you!
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20965490
Hi Janine,
Thanks for linking to that publication, but this is not a controlled study or a meta-analysis of several controlled studies but rather just a review of reports from the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System. To date, from what I can tell, there have not yet been any well-controlled studies following pregnant women. The flu vaccine literature even states this. All of the inserts that I reviewed (there were numerous ones) stated, “There are, however, no adequate and well-controlled studies in pregnant women.” If the vaccine makers themselves are stating, this I don’t think there is much debate over the fact since they would be the first ones to let you know that there has been research done to indicate that vaccines are safe for pregnant women.
Thank you for replying to that. I am really trying to sort through all the information out there. It can get kind of confusing. How do you feel about this article? http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3106242/
I’ll need to set some time aside to read through the article, but will try to do that sometime in the next day or two and will get back with you. Thanks Janine!
We don’t get the flu shot because my mother was one of the rare ones that had a near-fatal reaction. She nearly died. Of course, she never allowed us to have the shots after that and I have continued the practice. For us, it’s a crap shoot. Some years we get the flu, some we don’t. I’m convince that a shot wouldn’t make much of a difference. I know so many people who get one every year and still end up with the flu–yet they continue to get it. Since I can never be sure that my mother’s reaction wasn’t partly genetic, I just won’t take the risk of another bad side-effect situation, particularly when I believe that the odds are not that much greater of avoiding the flu if you get the shot.
I’m very sorry to hear about your mother’s terrible experience. I’m with you, I don’t think the flu shot would make much difference either. The flu has been pretty hit-or-miss in our house. We don’t get it every year, but do occasionally. Even if you got the flu shot, it’s likely you could get one of the other strains of the virus.
Thank you for sharing your in-depth research. My family has politely declined the flu shot for years. My youngest son is the only one that has had symptoms of flu in the past 5 years however, the doctor said it wasn’t flu. It was that year that I learned that the doctors only test for the strains of flu that the vaccines are developed to help prevent. The choice for our family to not vaccinate for the flu was easy because of the controversy around “thimerosal” and the suspected links to Autism-my 19 year old has Asperger’s Syndrome. (Knowing this information helped us decide for my husband, the other two children and me.) Having read your research and information we can confidently decline the flu shot, drink more water, eat healthier and sleep sounder knowing an intelligent, wise decision was made so say no. Thank you again.
You’re welcome. I love doing the research – just wish I had more time to do it! These are my favorite posts to write 🙂
You mentioned that you dont give your kids all the vaccines but some of them. I was curious about which ones you decline and why. I also have stopped getting my kids flu shots and recently declined my doctors request to give my daughter the guarasil shot. Thanks!
Terri,
Because my serious research into vaccines did not really begin until about a year ago, there have not been many vaccines I’ve declined thus far. We’ve never gotten the flu shot just because it never seemed like a serious enough illness to worry about getting a vaccine for and being that it’s one that has to be repeated yearly seems ridiculous. That said, until just a few months ago I had not really dug into any of the research to review the efficacy of the shot, potential problems, and the benefits.
If I were to have any more children, I’d put the same amount of time and energy into researching each of the individual vaccines as I did this one. As the doctor recommends vaccines I’ll likely put her off on an answer until I have a chance to research them. I do think there are some vaccines I would likely give to my kids on a delayed schedule, but I can’t answer definitively until I’ve researched more.
I’m certain I would, like you, decline the gardasil shot. Just the little bit of reading I’ve done on that one is enough to scare me. The chickenpox vaccine is one that I’ve declined as well.
I’m sorry I can’t be of more help, but I do hope to delve into each of the individual vaccines more fully in the future!
After i was forced to get the flu shot at Katrina in order fir me ti come home in 2005.i got hives after the shot then was sick for 3months then i was told i have Narcolepsy,then after that i had seizures on and off never before in my life i had seizures.So flu shots are not that good like they say.
Oh my, I hate hearing about those kind of horror stories! I do hope you reported it all to the Vaccine Injury Payment Plan so they at least have record of what has happened. It’s my guess, that these severe reactions are underreported unfortunately.
Thank you again, Trisha. It is very helpful when people do understand that vaccines do cause all sorts of health problems, especially in those who are susceptible. My husband did have underlying history of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, and according to Natasha McBride (Gut and Psychology Syndrome), such individuals should never be vaccinated at all. Unfortunately, in Australia, we don’t think there is a great deal we can do about what happened to Jamie, there is no compensation program for adverse reactions to vaccines, and he certainly is not up to any kind of law suit. So it is something that I pray, in God’s good timing, that we may be able to help reverse the damage of these vaccines, and toxic medicines, and have our Jamie back the way he was, or even better!! I never give up hope!! P.S. I forgot to mention that on top of all his pain, he now has finally been diagnosed with Fibromyalgia!!
I’ve not read the GAPS book, but it’s been on my “must read” list for quite some time. I do think that certain people who already have problems should really think twice before any vaccines. I’ve been dealing with some health issues lately and would absolutely not receive any vaccines.
It’s unfortunate there is not a vaccine compensation program in Australia like we have here in the US. Of course, because I’ve not dealt with the program I dont’ really know how they work, but at least it’s something.
I’ll pray for your husbands renewed health. It must be terribly discouraging and frustrating for him to live with such problems.
This was quite interesting to me! My husband is very protective of our children so he wants them vaccinated for everything but we’ve also been lucky that neither of our boys have ever been seriously ill. However, I can’t tell you the last time my husband or I got the flu shot…maybe when he was deployed years ago?? We chalk it up to God blessing us with strong immune systems because he’s actually never seen me have anything more than a sore throat! We were debating on flu shots this year, but I didn’t know the % risk was not worth it! Thanks for the information!
You are very welcome. I hope this information can help you and your husband’s decision a bit easier. Don’t forget the follow up posts on how to boost your immune system if you choose note to get the shot and also how to detox from the shot if you do decide to get it.
This is the best researched “lay person” analysis I have read from someone about the flu. Your research is outstanding and sums up a lot of the research I have done independently. My family and I do not get the flu shot and you would not believe the flack we have received for our choice to do this. Like you I have weighed the pros and cons and just don’t think the pros make up for the cons. We selectively vaccinate, and I just believe in my heart of hearts that this is a shoddy vaccine. Plus I have chosen to do my best to build up our immune systems and see the shots as a sure fire way to ding them in the short term. My job has also been threatened through my choice to not receive the shot and I am still incredulous that a company can dictate that you inject something into your body to keep your job .. especially when the efficacy rates are so poor. Thank you for all your hard work on this subject!
Thank you for the kind words. I 100% agree, I think it’s ridiculous that companies can fire people for not receiving a vaccine. Companies should not be able to bully people into injections.
Pinned and shared! 🙂 Well written and researched. Thanks for the great article! 🙂
Thanks for taking the time to share Megan!
I found this information very informative and helpful. We have not gotten the flu shot for years and years and don’t plan to start now. I do have one question for you. At the beginning of this post, you say this: “One, two, three, four little boys fall prey to the flu. As my stomach begins to cramp and churn and my temperature begins to rise…”
When you say “the flu” in this instance, are you referring to the stomach flu where people throw up? The flu shot is for respiratory flu, not the throwing up variety, so I was wondering if you could clarify what you meant when you said your kids were falling prey to the flu. How you phrased it suggested throwing up which then is confusing since you’re talking about the vaccine which is not for an upset stomach.
Hi Heather,
I’m glad you found the information helpful. Actually, the influenza strains the flu shot vaccinates for are always different each year. But, most influenza strains can cause nausea and vomiting. This is a more common symptom in children than in adults. You can reference the CDC or any number of references to get a complete list of symptoms. Hope this clears up the confusion!
My last flu shot was in 2010, due to the fact that I worked in a hospital and they “strongly” encouraged all employees to be vaccinated (in fact, the following year the flu shot became mandatory, exempting a religious or medical waiver approved by the board). In addition to coming down with flu-like symptoms (achiness, laryngitis, etc) I developed nerve pain in the lesser occipital nerve that persisted until I had a nerve block injection four months after the shot. The neurologist who treated me said I will have life-long issues with that nerve (which I can verify) and that I should never get the flu shot again.
I’m really sorry to hear about the problems you’ve had. I do hope you’ll continue to speak out so we can raise awareness on this. I’ve recently found out our local hospital is requiring the flu shot this year and will not give any exemptions. Very, very sad the way our personal rights are being taken away 🙁
It has been 21 months since I got my third flu vaccine that which caused a severe reaction that I am STILL dealing with. I initially went blind (internal and external scleritis) and deaf with EXTREEME head and body pains and severe inflammation throughout my body. Had blood in my spinal fluid. My sediment rate was 67 and my CRP was 11.1. I ended up with severe reactive arthritis. After 6 months of prednisone I now have glaucoma and cataracts. My lower arms/hands and lower legs and feet still go numb and tingle. I have 150 to 200 pain/sensations a day. The 365 days of continual migraines are not not so sever as long as I get constant therapy on my occipital region of my skull, neck, and shoulders. My extreeme fatigue that would only let me work in 2 hour stretches now has turned 160 degrees and now I am experiencing abnormal energy/weight loss and irritation in the Stomach, intestine and kidney area. It has been HELL. Had no choice but to retire because I can not depend on my health anymore.
Thank you for praying for my husband’s renewed health – I really appreciate it. I think it has been helping already. There have been some slight improvements, which are a blessing to him and the rest of our family. Sorry it took so long to reply (from October 22)!
God bless you, Trisha.
Thanks for the article! I have been going back and forth about the flu shot for my kiddos (3 yrs old and 10 months old) for literally months. I seriously think I have decided, then I just read someone say their 7 year old died 3 months after NOT receiving the flu shot (died from the flu) and she was suggesting everyone get it. It’s so hard to decide! That kind of things makes you worried to not get the flu shot because it’s scary. Oh my goodness…being a parent can be so difficult in decision making and wanting to do what’s best when you just don’t know what the “best” thing is! Pray, pray pray for guidance I guess. How can you make the decision so concrete? I wish I could…I have such a hard time. Oh, and not to mention the doctor totally pushing it down my throat every moment I’m there! Errrr! 🙂
For me, I can be so definite because of what the research says. The research shows it has very very minimal effectiveness. Also, there really are a lot of very serious things that can happen as a result of the flu shot.
It’s so very sad to hear of the child who died from flu. But I hear far fewer of those stories than stories of people who have had major problems, life debilitating problems, problems that result in death because of receiving the flu shot.
There are a lot of very difficult decisions in the life of a parent. I don’t know everything. My views have changed a lot on different issues since I’ve been a parent (like vaccines). I’m sure I’ve made lots of mistakes along the way. In the end, we have to do what we believe is the best for our child and trust that God has the rest in control. Whether or not you get your child the flu shot, He is still sovereign. I choose to have peace in that fact.
I like the research you’ve done and I too do not get the flu shot, but there are a few things you may want to read further on. The flu CAN be extremely dangerous (ie: the Spanish flu pandemic) so I feel that saying ‘it isn’t a big deal’ is misleading. It isn’t a big deal if the strains that are infecting people this year don’t target young, healthy children and adults. But some strains do – like H1N1.
In addition, chemically the ingredients like Formaldehyde, Aluminum Salts, and Thimerosal should not be ‘scary’ simply because they are scary chemicals in other products. Our body actually naturally has some Formaldehyde, Aluminum Salts are used in some vaccines – not all -, and Thimerosal isn’t the same Mercury that poisons people from fish.
Again, I like your article and some of the information is really great! Computer models do inflate the number of flu deaths and research is lacking, but I would thoroughly investigate every statement you’re making (and my own, I may have said something incorrectly) and cite your sources as seriously as if it were your graduate thesis
Thanks for the comment. I don’t have time to respond to everything here at the moment, but will get back to it. I did want to respond to two things quickly:
When I said “No big deal, right?” that was not a factual statement that the flu is never a big deal. I was relaying a conversation with my husband and my thought process before doing any research on the flu shot. It was a way to introduce the subject matter and draw the reader in. It wasn’t intended to be seen as the factual/research portion of my post. I hope that makes sense.
I also wanted to let you know that I DO cite my sources. You will see numbers throughout the post (these numbers correspond to my sources that I cite on my sources page). You can then click at the bottom of the post on the link that says “See Our Sources” to be taken to a page with all of my sources. I hope that helps.
I will try to get back a little bit later with regard to your other thoughts. Thanks again!
I appreciate your response!
I think while you intended to go from ‘why it’s no big deal to it is a big deal’ that didn’t come across.
In addition, I did notice that you cited your sources, but what I mention is that you don’t provide a source for every factual statement (ie: Thimerosal (mercury) under Preservatives.) There is a huge difference in citing some sources and filling your article so there is no doubt about where the information is found. The articles that change the minds of researchers, doctors, and heathcare workers are going to be the ones that cite every fact like a medical journal.
Great article!
My employment mandated the flu shot last year and I couldn’t afford loosing my job so I had to get it. Mind you I just had a baby. I asked if I could be exempt for a year because I was nursing but of course the answer was no. I decided to go with the flu mist because I thought I could flush it out of my system by using Vaseline in my nose, a Nettie pot, and constantly blowing my nose throughout the day. But, no such luck. I got extremely sick with nausea, fatigue, anxiety attacks, fever, and a whole list of other things. The worst part though was when my perfectly healthy 2 month old acquired respiratory problems which eventually turned into pneumonia. A year later we still struggle everytime he gets sick because it always settles in his chest. Talk about frustrating!
We don’t vaccinate in our house and I would never suggest to anyone to give the flu shot to their children. Personally to me it’s done more harm than good!
Yes, that would be beyond frustrating. I’m so sorry to hear this happened to you because of a mandatory flu shot. Unfortunately, I’m afraid the mandatory flu shots are going to just become more and more common. It’s so discouraging!
As a former healthcare worker, do not believe all you read. Just because it is on an official government website does not mean it is safe or accurate. And for those who ask why or the government would never put out anything dangerous……..just listen to the drug ads that are ran daily on tv, and radio.
It’s true… those drug ads are kind of scary! They try to make the drug sound like the best thing ever and then at the end have a list of a thousand awful things it can do to you.
Thank you for the well thought out, objective and thoroughly researched article. We do not vaccinate on our house because the data that you used in this article for the flu vaccine is very similar to the data for other vaccines. I appreciate the freedom of choice position you take. Its egregious to me that with all of this data medical professionals still choose intimidate families and refuse care to children whose families have chosen not to vaccinate and employers can put mandates on their employees when research proves they are ineffective and can cause more harm than good.
I loved your article. I have a 37 year old son who got his baby shots and the pertussis was bad. They recalled it the day after he got the shot. He spent almost a month in the hospital with the doctors trying their best to get his 106 degree fever own. At the end of the month the child who had been born with a high IQ was no better than a newborn. He had brain damage. In 2000 they said he would never get higher than a 1st grade level. I homeschooled all my children but we didn’t have all the things out there that there are no. I continue to homeschool my son and he can now work at a 2nd to 3rd grade level depending on the subject and I he enjoys it or not so I incorporate everything into the things he likes.
Thank you for letting people know what is in these vaccines. They are killing off our children. Did you know that the President does not get the flue shot nor does his family. Nor do those in Congress or the House of Representatives. It is too dangerous for then. Learned that when Obama made a big thing of getting the flue shot except it wasn’t the flue shot that he go.
I’m so very sorry to hear about what happened to your son! He is lucky to have you for a mom. He is blessed to have a mom that continues to hope and work for the best for him!
Hey Trisha,
thanks for posting this info. i addressed some of these issues with my pediatrician last year, and she did give me some answers that maybe you could either add to your data or give me a better answer for:
1) when it came to choosing which flu strands to put into the flu shot each year, she said they actually evaluate which flu strands hit hardest in the parts of the world that were winter while we had summer, as these tend to be the viruses that make their way here as we head towards winter. So according to her, it’s not just a crapshoot. i don’t know if that can be substantiated.
2) Most people do say they get some sort of flu-like reaction to the flu shot. Many use this as evidence for why they would never get it (i.e., “i got the flu from the flu shot!”). My pediatrician said that a) those flu-like symptoms are NOT the flu, as the flu knocks you out big time for a couple weeks, and b) your immune system causes those reactions in your body when it is starting to fight something, so everyone should be expecting slight reactions.
3) Pneumonia is a secondary issue that develops when your body doesn’t properly fight an initial virus or bacteria. i don’t know if the CDC purposefully neglected to tell us all about the fact that the pneumonia cases all stemmed from unfought flu viruses or if that wasn’t even looked into. But it very well could be that people dying from pneumonia got pneumonia from an initial influenza.
I appreciate your research and am thankful for you bringing up these issues. it’s very confusing when medical doctors are not bothered in the least by any of this. Thanks for thinking it through.
Leslie
Hi Leslie,
Thanks for stopping by!
1) I did some more reading up on how they pick the strains (as it’s been over a year since I did the research and I was forgetting some of the details). Yes, it does appear that they look at what flu viruses are circulating around the world. BUT, the flu virus mutates quite rapidly and some years (like last year) you find they end up don’t picking so well after all even with looking at what’s circulating in different parts of the world.
2) Yes, this is true that the side effects from the flu shot are not “the flu,” but in some people they can be quite severe nonetheless. And some reactions can cause lifelong debilitating problems. Read through some of the comments in this thread – I’ve also had many, many emails from people talking about the problems they’ve encountered from the flu shot. It’s very sad that doctors don’t even make patients aware of these things so they can make an educated decision. It’s also true that getting the flu shot makes it more difficult for your immune system to fight other strains of the flu. So, while you might not get the strain of flu your immunized for, you’re more likely to get another strain.
3) Yes, Pneumonia can be a secondary disease from the flu, but there are MANY other viruses and bacteria and even fungi that cause pneumonia. There is probably a small fraction of people who are dying from pneumonia that got it as a complication of the flu, but to lump all deaths from pneumonia into the pot with deaths from flu is extremely misleading in my opinion.
I hope that helps some. I think whether or not we choose to get vaccinations really needs to be a personal decision – one where we can weigh the pros/cons. It’s not always easy to sort through it all!
Do you know why the flu vaccine recommended for those over 65 is the trivalent version rather than the quadrivalent version? I know the trivalent version offered to seniors is 4x stronger but because it only protects against 3 variants of the flu it doesn’t seem like as good of a choice. What to do?
It would help if your article actually had truth in terms of what’s in a vaccine. Unless you are getting a flu vaccine from a multi dose vial, there are NO preservatives. That means no thimeresol. And how do I know this? Because the last year I got a regular flu shot, I was allergic. The next year, I got a single dose preservative free shot and had no reaction.
This year’s vaccine in the preservative free is Fluarix. Single dose. Kept in the fridge. And protects against FOUR strains of known flu based on world observation.
I am also advocating with my pharmacy to get Flublok which is preservative free and egg free for those whose only reason not to get the vaccine is the egg allergy.
In terms of who needs it, it does not help anyone if less than 90% of the population is vaccinated. Because too many feel it unnecessary, my mom goes somewhere and gets exposed. And now because she has been exposed, she comes home and exposes me. And depending on how strong my immune system is (I am immune deficient as a result of congenital rubella syndrome) will determine if I end up with the flu despite of having been vaccinated in advance of the season.
I am not the only at risk patient. And it is inconsiderate when people are medically able to be vaccinated to skip vaccines. Thanks to attitudes like yours and those of the actual full on crazy crazy antis, I now have to AGAIN petition my insurance company to approve and pay for more expensive IVIG so I can get a boost of what my immune system is not producing.
Aside from this, the flu costs. Whether insured or not, the flu costs. It costs people time from jobs and schools. It costs lives even. And it is absurd to say it doesn’t cost lives because it does. Seemingly healthy women have died from the flu.
You claim not to be antivaccine, yet “selective vaccination” is not any better lady.
I make no apologies for my opinion. Especially since your post through the e-mail asked for our thoughts.
And they have yet to update this for 2016-2017, but the information is still relevant: https://primaryimmune.org/about-primary-immunodeficiencies/relevant-info/flu-information/ – I encourage you to peruse it and anything else on their website.
Hi Essie,
I’m not sure if you read the post or not, but it actually DOES give the truth about what’s in the flu shots. I specifically say, “Thimerosal (mercury) is added to multi-dose vials of the flu shot.”
I can respect the decisions of those who choose to get the flu vaccine and am always welcome to dialog, but I’d appreciate the same respect and consideration in return – not personal attacks calling me inconsiderate. Instead I’d love to hear your thoughts on specific points in the post – specifically have you had a chance to review all of the meta-analysis that have shown that the flu shot simply isn’t effective?
I’m always open to growing and learning more. If you want to take the time to reading through my research and what I’ve posted, I’d welcome your thoughts.
I want to add a P.S. as well.
The ONE year my mom and I contracted type B influenza, we could tell the obvious difference between the vaccinated one (me) and the unvaccinated one (she is allergic – passed out when it was given in the military). She was literally knocking on death’s door. I had sustained high fever. Tamiflu did help thankfully, but that was the most hit and miss year due to type A mutation that year.
As for the feeling like you have flu after vaccine, there is a logical reason why people are urged to get the vaccine before the season starts. It takes 14-21 days for your body to make antibodies. Hence the reason why you cannot even get titers after vaccination until 6 weeks.
Generally, if you wait until December-February to get the vaccine, you will have already been exposed. And flu has a 10-14 day incubation period in which people are most contagious and spreading it.
This year, there will be no flu mist (they recalled it due to some issues of it not being as helpful as they thought it would be).
And furthermore, do what you will, but please make sure that if you even feel remotely ill that you do NOT go out in public. That’s the biggest thing.
I realize this post is very old..but…Do you think that the severity of the flu could have also been attributed to the difference in ages between you and your mom? With her being older, I would expect hers to possibly be more severe. Just a thought to contemplate.
Great post! I heard recently that they are phasing out the nasal vaccine (“live virus”) as it has been proven ineffective. Hmmmmm…
I hadn’t read that, but now I have to go look into it 🙂
My eldest was born at 27weeks with a major heart condition. We have done most of the vaccines. My two girls have rarely gotten the flu vaccine.
With my son we wait until we see his pulmanologist (Lung Doctor) in the fall and discuss that year’s vaccine with him. Basically it is- “how good is the flu shot this year?” And he tells me either “they were way off the mark this year, don’t get it” or “They did good this year.” That is when we decide if he will get it or not. With him a simple runny nose (flu, RSV, crud, etc) can easily turn into pneumonia (and has) so the risk/benefit scale tips more easily.
FYI Lavender (and eucalyptus) can trigger epileptics. My son is one and lavender does trigger him. Thankfully eucalyptus doesn’t and has done GREAT at strengthening his lungs. (Use supported and encouraged by his pulmanologist) ?
Thanks for sharing your experiences! Very interesting about the lavender and eucalyptus – I didn’t know that!
We don’t get flu shots in our house for a number of reasons. We are selective vaxxers as well. We postpone the chicken pox and pass on hpv. The most important consideration is risk vs benefit. If the disease being prevented is serious I’m willing to accept more serious side effects. We don’t normally get the flu here. I’ve had it maybe once my entire life at age 44. If I did get it I’m healthy enough that I wouldn’t be likely to die or even be hospitalized. My mom is very vulnerable to lung issues and the flu could kill her so for her the benefits outweigh the risks.
This selective vaccination has been a family issue. We live in a small mountain town where lots of folks do not vaccinate . In fact my sons second year of school whooping cough was going around . I vaccinate for the big ones but not flu . A healthy body that rests can beat that on its own and come out stronger .
Also not a big believer in antibiotics . Again diet exercise, sleep and strong stress relief do allot to prevent many dis-eases.
Thanks for informative article
You’re welcome Tanya. I agree about antibiotics. They’re definitely over-prescribed and we don’t use them in our family unless it’s a very last resort.
We do not get the flu vaccine in our house. Our boys also do not get multiple vaccines at one visit or if they are not well. Thank God that we have an awesome pediatrician that doesn’t threaten to kick us out of her practice due to,these decisions, as my brother and his wife experienced with their group. I am employed as an RN in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and I have witnessed premature infants coming close to death after receiving their “routine” vaccinations all at once. Our hospital no longer gives them all at once. As a healthcare provider in my state, my refusal to receive a flu vaccine means that I must wear a face mask at work from November 1st until as late as mid June. I have not had the flu since I was a child (no testing done to actually prove it was the flu) and every year at least 50% or more of my coworkers who get the vaccine are actually tested and have the flu. Unfortunately it is a law in my state so I wear my mask.
Hi Lisa,
That’s nice that your hospital gives you the option of wearing a face mask and opting out of the flu shot. I have friends in our state who are FIRED if they don’t receive the flu shot. They don’t even get the option of wearing a mask. This even goes for healthcare providers who work from home and take calls – how ridiculous is that! They never even come in contact with patients.
I enjoyed reading your post and agree with most of it. The attack on aluminum (its connection to Alzheimer’s Disease) is still argumentative, and for me, has yet to be proven. I do not take the flu shot and would not allow my children to receive it. 16 to the 16th power is a lot of variation for a 4-strain vaccine to combat. It is preposterous to say the least. All of us should concentrate on general health and well being. Eat the foods that promote a healthy gut, and exercise. Stay strong!
You’re right the aluminum connection hasn’t been proven, but there are some sources that show some strong links…more research is needed though. Good points on focusing gut health. We need to build strong immune systems through our gut, something many people don’t yet understand. Thanks for the comment!
I have not had a flu shot since the fall of 1976, when the big thing was “swine flu”. I got the shot and was sick in bed for 2 days after (just what I needed since I had a 6 mo. old baby). I had a flu shot when the Hong Kong flu hit in the late 60s. Missed 2 weeks of high school and was sick as a dog. I dragged myself out of my sick bed to take my SATs. It showed.
Since 1976, I have not had a case of the flu once. Bad colds occasionally, yes. One case of bronchitis, yes. Back in 2009, when there was the big panic about the flu strain that year (H1N1 strain), I worked at a very busy college bookstore where the vaccinated students were dropping like flies. None of the adults there were vaccinated and none of us got it.
My adult daughters choose not to get their kids vaccinated (age range 1-14). None of the kids have had anything more serious than a bad head cold.
My husband, however, religiously gets a flu shot each fall. While he gets more colds (averaging 4-5, while I get maybe 1; in a bad year, maybe 2) he hasn’t gotten the flu either.
I am leery of much of medical practice now so I will not be getting any flu shots this year or in coming years.
We do not get the flu shot and we haven’t caught the flu yet. The one time I got the flu shot (12 years ago) I got the flu and I was pregnant with our oldest. Looking back now I’m so thankful that nothing happened to her because of the shot. We use food as our source of preventative medicine.
There is some new research out there on the flu shot during pregnancy and it’s pretty scary stuff given that OBs routinely recommend it. I need to dig into the research some more to see how much merit there is to it though. I’ve already declined the flu shot (currently pregnant) and was thankful the OB I’m seeing didn’t give me a hard time about it. I had a previous OB who gave me a lot of flack—part of the reason I knew I needed a new one!
Thank you for sharing your viewpoint! We are also “selective-vaxxers”. I like that you used that phrase. My husband gets the flu shot by my daughter and do not. I do believe you have to do your research and what is best for your family. With a family history of autoimmune disorders and reactions to vaccines, I do not believe the CDC schedule is best for us. However, I do believe that as parents we should have a say in what we believe is best for our children. There are shots that I believe to be beneficial. It is disappointing that other parents and doctors can belittle your decisions without understanding the reasons why you make your choices. Thank you for showing that there are other parents out there that do their research! 🙂
You bring up another good point that I didn’t have room to discuss in this post! Your personal health history is very important in deciding what vaccines to get/not get. With a history of autoimmune disorders, family members who have had poor reactions to vaccines, or MTHFR mutations — those should all be red flags and cause you to walk with a little more caution.
This is good information. Thanks for all of the work! Where do you find all of this? It’s tough to make a decision on other vaccines when the information the doctor hands out is put out by the company that makes the vaccine!
Not sure where the first sentence came from……didn’t type that when I posted it! Sorry about that.
I just received the FLUBLOK Vaccine this year and right when it was administered I felt heat overcome my boy and part of my face went numb. It started in my lower lip, and then spread to my chin. When I told the public health nurses who administered they brushed it off as having high stress, and anxiety. I told her yes I felt stressed over being forced to get the shot but that’s not what happened. They dismissed it as nerves. The numbness didn’t dissipate until 4.5 hours later which was crazy because it felt like when you go to dentist and they numb you. I know it wasn’t nerves that caused the numbness but feel it was some type of reaction. Since I work in a hospital we are pretty much bullied into taking the shot even if we do not agree with it. They are making it harder and harder for us to say no, and then when a reaction occurs they brush it off like nothing. I am curious if anyone else has experienced same issues, and if so is there a place to report them. Thanks for letting me chime in.
I am against getting the flu shot, (but will be required to for my new job 👎) however, I noticed some falsehoods in your article.
From medicalnewstoday.com: “Antibiotics are present in the flu vaccine to keep bacteria from growing during the production and storage of the vaccine. ⭐Vaccines DO NOT contain antibiotics that may cause severe reactions, such as penicillin. Instead, vaccines contain other forms of antibiotics, such as gentamicin or neomycin. Neomycin is also an ingredient in many topical medications, such as lotions, ointments, and eye drops.”⭐
“Thimerosal is made of an organic form of mercury known as ethylmercury, a safe compound that usually only stays in the blood for a few days. ⭐It is different from the standard mercury that can cause illness in large doses, and from the mercury found in seafood (called methylmercury), which can stay in the body for years.⭐
Flu shots will only contain thimerosal when they are in a multi-dose vial. Single-dose vials, pre-filled syringes, and nasal sprays do not need to include this preservative because contamination is not an issue.”
As for the Aluminum salts (which have been used in vaccines for over 70 years) and formaldehyde, the concentrations are incredibly small and are highly unlikely to cause any issues.
Thank u for this article, our family has never had the flu vaccine…..but the schools are giving free shots, so I’ve been contemplating whether to try it or not. Something just told me NO, but then I’m scared I’m not doing the right thing. I often think bk when the swine flu was ramped and both my daughters got it, I cried because social media made it seem like if u got basically u would die….I was a nervous wreck, and the Dr was so nasty…did u vaccinate them? Me, no sir I did not …well their ya go, you’ll prob get it too! Well I never did get it, and thank God it was literally 3 days of feeling crappy w a fever , and BK to normal.
I am allergic to Sulfa. After reading several sources, including yours, I went looking to find sulfa as an ingredient in the flu vaccine. I can’t seem to find it. In fact, the FDA says there is not sulfa in the vaccine. Did they change the ingredients? Is there any way you might be able to point me in the right direction to find out about this? It would make my decision super easy if there was sulfa in the vaccine. Thanks.
The last time I got the flu shot, I got very sick and ended up with asthma. Looking back, I also got extremely sick after my 7th grade shots, came down with pneumonia and missed three months of school. I used to be very pro vaccines and never made the connection that I was having reactions to the vaccines I was getting. I had my two oldest children vaccinated fully and now they are dealing with things that may be associated with vaccines. I wish this information had been more available back then and that I would have payed attention. Thankfully, my the younger children are doing better and between the three of them just don’t get as sick as their big sisters did.
Do you know how much aluminum is in the flu shot in mcg? I searched “how much aluminum is in the flu shot” and have been through 3 pages of google results of articles trying to tell me that it’s perfectly safe but not a one of them will tell me HOW MUCH is in the shot. Just that it’s there “in a small amount” and “necessary” and “perfectly safe”. Censorship and propaganda, much?
Just wondering if you had come across it when researching this article.
Would you recommend the TDAP vaccine for 2-month olds? Links to research pro or against would be highly appreciated.
I’d like to take the time to compile all of the info I’ve researched on tdap at some point, but I don’t have that together right now. We opted out of it for our youngest.