It’s recommended for the young, the old and just about everyone in between, but does it really make a difference?
By Joseph J. Murphy, DC
As consumers, we look to authorities to inform us how to stay healthy. But in the case of the influenza virus, I believe we have been led astray. Every year as flu season approaches, health authorities begin their chorus of warnings about the dangers of getting the flu. As part of their campaign to drum up support for the annual flu vaccine, it is common to hear about the 36,000 people who die every year from flu-related illness. But is this statistic even accurate?
According to a recent announcement from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC), the answer is no. In fact, according to the CDC, there is no average number of people who die from the flu because the actual count varies significantly from year to year. Published in its “Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report,” the CDC explained the actual death count from flu-related illness has been as low as 3,300 in some years, which is far lower than statistics often used by the media.
The vast majority of flu-related deaths occur in people over 65, and typically it is not even the flu that kills them, but other illnesses that result at some point after having the flu. However, this fact has not stopped the CDC from now recommending that every person over the age of six months get a flu vaccine.
The question is, do flu vaccines even work? According to two reviews recently published by the Cochrane Foundation, flu vaccinations are not effective at preventing the flu. In fact, the group’s findings say, they do virtually nothing to prevent the flu-related illnesses responsible for causing death, primarily in the elderly.
In fact, flu vaccines “show only modest or no effect against influenza and hospitalization from pneumonia,” according to Dr. Tom Jefferson from the Cochrane Vaccines Field. He also said in a podcast that “we have no reliable evidence on the effects of influenza vaccines on the elderly and health care workers who work with the elderly. What we do have evidence of is widespread manipulation of conclusions and spurious notoriety of the studies.”
In New Jersey where I practice, more vaccines are government mandated than any other state, approximately 33 in all, and it is now mandatory that all school-age children receive the flu vaccine. Yet, in many countries, like Australia, the vaccine was actually banned for children. A recent WA Today article stated that an 11-monthold boy had a seizure after receiving the first dose of the two-dose flu vaccination, and after his mother called the doctor, she was told her child was the fifth that day to be admitted to the hospital with similar symptoms.
FLAWED STATISTICS
Two of the flawed statistics touted by organized medicine and vaccine manufacturers are that “the vaccines save lives” and “vaccines are safe and effective.” But in 2004, vaccine production was low, resulting in a shortage (there was a 40 percent reduction in vaccinations). Yet mortality rates did not rise during this flu season.
Additionally, in 1968 and 1997, the formulated flu vaccine was a total mismatch for the widely circulating influenza that made people sick. So in effect, nobody was vaccinated these two years! If the vaccine reduces death rates by 50 percent as is claimed by vaccine manufacturers, then these two years in which the vaccine completely missed the mark should have seen huge spikes in winter death rates, right? But what really happened was…nothing. Not a blip. Not a spike. Nothing. The death rates didn’t rise at all.
If vaccines really worked to save lives, then the more people you vaccinate, the lower death rates you should see, but that’s not the case. Back in 1989, only 15 percent of those over 65 got vaccinated against the flu. Today, more than 65 percent are vaccinated. And yet, amazingly, death rates among the elderly have not gone down during flu season. In fact, they’ve gone up!
It’s time that we, the people, stand up and be counted. Our voices against the forced flu vaccinations of our children should be heard.
They do not work. They are not safe, and in my opinion, are totally unnecessary. For more information on flu vaccines and vaccine safety, visit the National Vaccine Information Center at www.nvic.org. This is the consumer watchdog group that tells it like it is. Here, you can also see what states require the flu vaccine for school enrollment.
Editor’s Note: The opinions stated in the above article do not necessarily reflect those of Elevated Existence Magazine, and are not a recommendation made by the magazine or its staff.
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ABOUT DR. JOSEPH J. MURPHY
Dr. Joseph J. Murphy has been in private practice for 25 years, and currently practices in New Jersey. He is a past president of the N.J. Board of Chiropractic Examiners (NJBCE), and received his bachelor’s degree in biology and chemistry from Rider College and his Doctor of Chiropractic degree from Palmer College. Additionally, Dr. Murphy currently authors the blog, MedicineIsKillingUs.com. For more information, visit his Web site at www.drmurphy.com or follow him on Facebook.