Flu shots are virtually worthless, says new British Medical Journal analysis

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Flu shots are virtually worthless, says new British Medical Journal analysis Friday, October 27, 2006 by: Jessica Fraser, citizen journalist http://www.naturalnews.com/020912.htmlKey concepts: Flu shots, British Medical Journal and Vaccines Email this article to a friend Printable Version FREE Email NewsletterBreaking News for Saturday, December 13, 2008$50 Billion Madoff Swindle is Miniscule Compared to Federal Reserve's Ponzi SchemeHealth Ranger's Housing Bubble Predictions from 2005 Have Come TrueEcuador Refuses to Pay Back Debts to Western Imperial BankstersKB Toys Files for Bankruptcy, Shutters 277 Stores and 11,000 EmployeesAchoo! One Sneeze Infects 150 People in Five Minutes See all Breaking News... FREE Natural Health NewsletterReceive natural health product reviews, recommendations and alerts.Instant download of 20+ free health reports and exclusive interviews.Join over 1.2 million monthly readers. Articles Related to This Article:• Vaccines are not the answer for bird flu• Drive-Thru Flu Shots Now on The Menu at Many Hospitals• Why You Need Extra Vitamin D during the Flu Season(NaturalNews) Flu vaccines are largely ineffective in the populations for which they are most highly recommended, according to a new study published in the Oct. 28 issue of the British Medical Journal. Dr. Tom Jefferson, coordinator of the Cochrane Vaccines Field in Rome, Italy, conducted an extensive review of previous studies on the effectiveness of inactivated [dead virus] flu vaccines on hospital admissions, death rates and time off work. "We've got an exaggerated expectation of what vaccines can actually do," Jefferson said. "I'm hoping American and European taxpayers will be alerted and start asking questions." Most developed and developing countries have influenza vaccination programs that are believed to help reduce the number of flu deaths and hospitalizations. United States health authorities currently recommend flu vaccine shots for most Americans -- children 6 to 23 months; kids 23 months to 5 years old; those 50 and older; people with chronic health conditions such as diabetes, asthma, HIV or heart disease; health-care professionals and caregivers; and anyone with household contact of high-risk individuals, such as stay-home mothers with young children. Jefferson notes that recommendations for flu vaccines have significantly increased in recent years -- a move he says may not be justified. "I looked at the evidence described by systematic reviews and confronted it with policy and I found that there is a massive gap," he said. "Almost none of the benefits that these policy documents list are actually given by inactivated vaccines or, if they are, they are given in slighter measure." Consumer health advocate Mike Adams, author of "Conquering the Common Cold," called flu vaccine shots "one of the greatest medical cons perpetrated on the populations of the world," and questioned new U.S. policies pushing the vaccines on young children and expectant mothers. "Flu shots only prevent colds in about 1 percent of people who get them, making them 99 percent useless," Adams said. "They also inject unhealthy substances such as mercury preservatives directly into tissues, poisoning the patient with a chemical burden that accumulates with each flu shot."