Last month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) basically admitted this year’s flu vaccine really won’t work. In fact, the vaccine only covers about half of the flu viruses out there this year.
But this year’s flu failure isn’t all that surprising.
In fact, when scientists from around the globe design the annual vaccine they make an “educated guess” about which strains of flu will be most common in the coming year. The process begins several months before flu season starts so vaccine manufacturers have time to make the vaccines.
So it’s always just a crapshoot. Apparently, this year’s crapshoot was particularly bad.
But even in a lucky, “well-matched” year, the flu vaccine still isn’t all that effective. In fact, in 2013, Dr. Peter Doshi–a scientist with John Hopkins University (JHU) Medical Center–published an eye-opening report about the flu vaccine in the prestigious British Medical Journal (BMJ).
I always take great interest in the science coming out of Johns Hopkins. I can see the world-renowned hospital from my publisher’s historic office building, high atop Washington Square in Baltimore. And I’m sure Dr. Doshi made some waves inside its hallowed walls when he published his damaging article. He claims the flu vaccines are far less effective and far more dangerous than the CDC ever admits.
You see, public health bureaucrats perennially tell us “vaccines save lives.” So the public assumes they must have evidence to back up this claim. But when a doctor inside the establishment speaks up about the real science, the truth starts to leak out. And Dr. Doshi made good, strong points in his BMJ report…
First, as I’ve often reported, Dr. Doshi said the studies that actually “support” the CDC’s wild claims about the vaccine’s effectiveness are often very low quality. And they don’t actually substantiate the CDC’s claims on close inspection. But for the public health career bureaucrats, it seems the only important thing is that a study was done. Not what the study results actually showed.
Second, as I’ve argued before, the CDC overstates the influenza threat. (Indeed, for many of their misguided recommendations over the years, the public health authorities themselves have become a bigger threat than the flu.) You see, influenza is just not that contagious compared to many more serious viruses.
Yes, the flu is unpleasant and inconvenient. And, of course, the elderly have more trouble getting over it, as it can cause serious complications for them. Including pneumonia and even death.
So–the CDC pushes for universal vaccinations because of these flu complication risks among the elderly. And many healthcare facilities now enact mandatory vaccination policies for their employees. In fact, they force people to get the vaccine under threat of losing their jobs. All without good evidence. Indeed, strong research shows the flu vaccine doesn’t lower the risk of these dangerous complications at all in the elderly population.
In fact, the “healthy-user” effect explains any perceived reduction in death rates among people who get the flu vaccine.
In other words, healthier people (and people more concerned about their health, or at least more accepting and trusting of government public health bureaucrats) are more likely to get a vaccine in the first place. So, logically, they will have healthier outcomes. But we can’t attribute their improved outcomes just to the vaccine. They were simply heathier and more interested in staying healthy in the first place.
The FDA actually approved the influenza vaccines for use in older people without any clinical trials that demonstrate a reduction in serious health outcomes.
Of course, as I mentioned earlier, very often the type of influenza vaccine developed does not even match the actual strains of the virus causing the annual epidemic. As has happened this year.
But even in years when the CDC gets the virus type right, studies show you need to vaccinate up to 100 people to prevent just one case of influenza. And there is no evidence that preventing even that single case (per 100 people) results in any reduction of the risk of serious complications. Such as hospitalizations or deaths in the elderly.
A study by the evidence-based Cochrane Collaboration analyzed hundreds of thousands of people. They found vaccination offered zero protection against pneumonia, hospitalization, and death.
At best, it prevented one-third of the elderly patients from getting the flu. But only in those years when the CDC actually picked the right strains of virus against which to vaccinate. (And again, this year isn’t of those “good years.”) The vast majority of people who get the flu vaccine don’t get any benefit.
So, now we know the flu vaccine doesn’t work as promised by the CDC. But is it at least safe?
Of course, the CDC claims the vaccine is safe. But that’s not true either.
Serious epidemics of vaccine-caused neurological diseases have been reported in Canada and Scandinavia. Curiously, we don’t hear much about these reports in the U.S.
Dr. Doshi also pointed to an Australian study that found one in 110 children who received vaccinations in 2009 for H1N1 influenza experienced brain seizures (convulsions) following vaccination. Researchers also found a prominent spike in narcolepsy among adolescents who received this vaccine.
In my forensic pathology medical practice, one of the important questions I ask when examining a case is cui bono? That is, who actually benefits from the crime or the act?
So–let’s apply that same logic here…
Who benefits from these rampant government flu vaccination campaigns? After reading today’s Dispatch, I hope the answer is clear.
Promoting annual flu vaccines has become one of the most aggressive and visible public health policies in the history of the United States. Drug companies and public health officials press for widespread vaccinations every year. Despite poor outcomes and serious risks.
But their aggressive policies have yielded one kind of success…more people than ever get their annual flu shots. Twenty years ago, 32 million doses of the flu vaccine were available in the U.S. Today, that figure is 135 million. Clearly, someone benefits from these massive vaccine campaigns.
I just hope you aren’t one of the unsuspecting victims of this government-sanctioned health scam.
Tomorrow, I will tell you about six simple steps you can take that really work to protect against the flu. And you won’t have to resort to an ineffective and dangerous vaccine.
Source:
- “Influenza: marketing vaccine by marketing disease,” BMJ 2013;346:f3037