Vaccines for the Flu?

Lately I've been getting a lot of questions about whether or not I think the flu vaccine is a good idea. So, I am posting here an email I just sent to a friend on this topic.

But, be warned! I am not a doctor. I'm just a reasonably well educated person who reads a lot.

So follow my advice (or not) at your own risk!

"Well, I'm against the vaccine. What I've read, is that it typically doesn't stop people from getting the flu, just lessens the severity a little. With all the anecdotal evidence out there that the adjuvants in the the vaccines, like thimerosal and squalene, can cause lots of damage in some kids, I'm dubious.

I'd rather my kids get immunity the good old fashion way without the mercury additives. That's my very biased and "non medical degree" view of it. I know vaccines have done lots of good in general, but I think the "disease theory" focus of our medical system is profit motivated. Did you hear about the doctor at Penn, Dr. Paul Offit, who is on the board of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (and other organizations like that) who also holds the patent on one of the vaccines he oversees on the board? He reaped something like $30 million in royalties. How can that guy be unbiased? Here are some links to info on him:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Offit

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/06/25/vaccine-doctor-given-at-least-30-million-dollars-to-push-vaccines.aspx

http://www.wellnesschiropractic.com/news.php?subaction=showfull&id=1254770291&archive=&start_from=&ucat=&

I think a better plan is good education about nutrition, supplements, etc. and taking time out from our busy, stressful lives to get some rest when we get sick (and before we get sick!). As long as we focus people's attention on the boogaboo germs and the magic bullets to treat them, then folks don't have to deal with their own habits regarding their health. Of course then people like us who seem to be doing a good job in that regard still get sick. So, I don't know in the end, what the right answer is. It would be great to never get sick, but the data I've seen is that over the last decade, in spite of the fact that flu vaccination rates are way up, the rate of infection with flu has not gone down. It's actually gone up. So, how can it be helping? In the end, I think flu shots are bogus. I've had many patients tell me they got the flu shot and then got sick any way."

And this from Failblog sums it all up:

http://failblog.org/2009/10/06/innoculation-fail/

And finally, this from About.com on why the flu shot is not always effective in the first place:

http://chemistry.about.com/cs/howthingswork/a/aa011604a.htm