Gary: The following article is by a NZ Doctor (MD) with decades of experience in the health sector. He has requested total anonymity. On reading this you will understand that this Dr is breaking ranks: Contrary to what we hear in the media and from those in authority: The Seasonal Flu Vaccine Programme is a poor use of precious health dollars. I totally agree.
"My main thrust, I guess, is that the Govt should be far more onto it than they are, and should be just as accountable as the drug companies for their actions. A terrible waste of tax payers' money." (Dr)
I have also linked an excellent article on the matter, at the end of this post, that supports what the doctor has written. It includes some excellent advice about how to protect yourself, naturally, from the worst effects of seasonal flu.
The first video is of Piers Morgan receiving the flu vaccine from Dr Oz. The second, at the end of this post, is of him suffering from the flu 10 days later.
Note: I am not anti-vaccinations (I can't speak for the doctor, because I have not asked him). There are some vaccines, such as the tetanus one, that I do not have a problem with. I do have a problem with the hijacking of health by commercial interests that consign our immune systems to the back seat when it comes to protection from agents of disease.
"My main thrust, I guess, is that the Govt should be far more onto it than they are, and should be just as accountable as the drug companies for their actions. A terrible waste of tax payers' money." (Dr)
I have also linked an excellent article on the matter, at the end of this post, that supports what the doctor has written. It includes some excellent advice about how to protect yourself, naturally, from the worst effects of seasonal flu.
The first video is of Piers Morgan receiving the flu vaccine from Dr Oz. The second, at the end of this post, is of him suffering from the flu 10 days later.
Note: I am not anti-vaccinations (I can't speak for the doctor, because I have not asked him). There are some vaccines, such as the tetanus one, that I do not have a problem with. I do have a problem with the hijacking of health by commercial interests that consign our immune systems to the back seat when it comes to protection from agents of disease.
Here is the Good Doctor's article:
The Flu Shot – Dr Oz is getting his, are you?
The flue is heading our way and if the reports coming out of the USA are anything to go by, we could be thumped.
DR Oz tells us we need the flu shot and he will be getting his. None the less, with a widespread vaccination campaign and with our family doctors keeping us on our toes, we will be well prepared. As doctors, the word vaccination has us nodding our heads in appreciation for this wondrous gift, bestowed upon us to save our patients from serious illness and for those in poor health, even death. Our collective wisdom tells us that hard-working scientists, more elevated than we at the coal face, have done the hard yards and we need us only ask, when, where and how often. Besides, we know the Department of Health and Pharmac, ever vigilant with their spending, will know that a stitch in time saves nine.
A few weeks ago, an update to a medical Information program had an interview with an expert in disease control who stated that the vaccine works on average in 62% of those vaccinated, but in 2011, although no figure was given, it was less than 60%. The strike rate seemed a little poor to me and being one who likes to be honest with his patients ie, I am not comfortable telling them they need to have it when less than 60% might benefit, information related to the flu vaccine was worth a closer look.
Further to this, the frequently touted “the vaccination doesn't necessarily mean you won’t get the bug, but it won’t be as bad,” is also worthy of consideration. We all know it is the elderly, the ill and the very young that are most vulnerable to seasonal influenza.
A 2005 study reported in one of the world’s major medical journals, Archives of Internal Medicine stated that the influenza vaccination is not proven in younger individuals at risk (Arch Intern Med, 2005, 165(16):121-2). It was further stated in the same year, that despite an increasing vaccination coverage after 1980, there was no correlation with declining mortality rates in any age group. (Arch Intern Med.2005;165(3):265-72. In fact between 1967 and 2011, there have been no clinical trials evaluating the effects of the traditional flu vaccine in the elderly at all – the most highly targeted group (Lancet Infect Dis.2012;12(1):36-44) In considering the millions of dollars spent each year in NZ on the vaccination program, things looked a little flakey, which leads us to the Cochrane Collaboration.
The Cochrane Collaboration
The above organization is an international network of 28,000 dedicated people working together to help healthcare workers, policy makers, patients, their advocates and carers, make well informed decisions about health care. Their work is regarded as the benchmark for high quality information about the effectiveness of health care. The reviews they produce are unique because they are produced by and relevant to, everyone interested in the effects of human health care. This is where the rubber meets the road, it either helps us or it doesn't.
Their findings are mind boggling:-
Their study “Vaccines for preventing influenza in healthy adults,” (Gary: I have reproduced the entire report at the end of this article) is damming of the entire pharmaceutical industry and its minions: the drug testing industry and the medical system that both relies on and promotes them. Some major findings were:
“….industry funded studies were published in more prestigious journals and cited more often than other studies…”
“….reliable evidence on influenza vaccines is thin….”
“….there is evidence of widespread manipulation of conclusions….”
Even without taking into account the shoddiness of the studies in general, the authors were still hard put to find any benefit of any sort in healthy people. At best, they found a small decrease in the number of days off work. They did not find that the vaccinations had any benefit whatsoever in complications or mortality. From the science point of view, the reviews of Chochrane are as good as it gets - and the pharmaceutical industry, yes the fox has been well and truly in charge of the hen house.
The revenue from the flu vaccine to the pharmaceutical industry is reputed to be 3.6 billion $USD a year. Even in NZ, at a cost of around $20 a dose, millions of dollars are involved. The question that must be asked – in a country where health dollars are hard to come by, as to why are Pharmac and the NZ Department of Health, are not up with the play? Evidence based research is at the core of sound medical decision making, however, in the case of the pharmaceutical companies; we know that he who pays the piper calls the tune. A recent article (Mercola.com), stated that the cradle to the grave vaccination policy of the US Centre’s for Disease Control has become so entrenched ,that the CDC – the organization that set the policy, can quietly acknowledge that any benefit is minimal, which was stated in a round- about way in one of their recent bulletins (www.cdc.gov/flu/about/us_flu-related_deaths).
We hope that Dr Oz, with his powerful media position, at least gets his jab at no cost.
Does having a flu shot mean I won't get the flu?
About this website
The advice in these articles is given freely without promise or obligation. Its all about giving you and your family the tools and information to take control of your health and fitness.
2 comments:
if people don't even grasp that flu shots are a con, how are they ever going to understand the the entire process of vaccinations for all diseases is worse than completely useless
nice post, thanks.
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