Flu Shots For The Elderly Are Ineffective

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Orthomolecular Medicine News Service, October 23, 2008

 

Flu Shots For The Elderly Are Ineffective

 

(OMNS, October 23, 2008) Have the elderly people in your family missed their

flu shot? If so, they may have made the right decision. The New York Times

recently reported that " A growing number of immunologists and epidemiologists

say the vaccine probably does not work very well for people over 70, " and

that previous studies may have shown " not any actual protection against the flu

virus but a fundamental difference between the kinds of people who get

vaccines and those who do not . . . simply because they went to the doctor more

often. " (1)

 

Influenza vaccination has been widely touted even though evidence of

effectiveness is lacking. One large scientific review looked at 40 years' worth

of

influenza vaccine studies. It found that flu shots were ineffective for

elderly persons living in the community, and flu shots were " non-significant

against influenza " for elderly living in group homes. (2) The authors of

another

major review " found no correlation between vaccine coverage and

influenza-like-illness attack rate. " (3) Author Dr. Thomas Jefferson said, " The

vaccine

doesn't work very well at all. Vaccines are being used as an ideological

weapon.

What you see every year as the flu is caused by 200 or 300 different agents

with a vaccine against two of them. That is simply nonsense. " (4) Indeed, he

commented, " What you see is that marketing rules the response to influenza,

and scientific evidence comes fourth or fifth. " (5)

 

Some still claim that flu vaccinations, even though they do not prevent the

flu, may help prevent more serious complications such as pneumonia, so

dreaded and so often deadly for the elderly. But the authors of the study

discussed

in the NY Times article specifically noted that " influenza vaccination was

not associated with a reduced risk of community-acquired pneumonia. " (6)

 

As with all immunizations, flu shots can have harmful side effects. Vaccines

may contain, among other things, ingredients such as mercury and aluminum,

which are widely regarded as toxic. The elderly are more likely to be injured

by, or even die from, flu vaccine side effects. Such incidents may remain

unreported by hospitals or physicians. One man, aged 76, had a flu shot and

immediately had to be hospitalized for a week. When family members suggested to

the hospital staff and physicians that it was probably a reaction to the shot,

their views were disregarded. Two years later the man had another flu shot,

and was promptly hospitalized a second time. Family members once again said

it was a reaction to the flu shot. The hospital said it was a low-grade

infection, probably a bladder infection. The man died.

 

There are indications that vaccination side effects are underreported. The

US Food and Drug Administration's Vaccine Adverse Effect Reporting System

receives around 11,000 serious adverse reaction reports each year, mostly from

doctors. (7) FDA states that " VAERS tracks serious vaccine reactions, not

common fevers and soreness from shots. Serious reactions include death,

life-threatening illness, hospitalization, and disability resulting from a

vaccine. "

(8) However, FDA admits that they probably receive reports for only about 10

percent of all adverse vaccine reactions. (9) The National Vaccine Information

Center estimates the reporting percentage to be far lower, perhaps under 3

percent. (10)

 

The exact contents of each year's flu shot is an educated guess. Sometimes

this guess is wrong, as it was for 2008, where the vaccine " doesn't match two

of the three main types of flu bugs now in circulation. . . . The predominant

type A flu virus this year is the H3N2 strain; 87% are the " Brisbane "

strain. And 93% of this year's type B flu bugs are from the " Yamagata " lineage.

The

current flu vaccine's H3N2 component is the " Wisconsin " strain; the type B

component is from the " Victoria " lineage. " (11) Even when the guess is

correct, flu viruses frequently mutate and become resistant all over again.

 

The flu vaccine, notes the NY Times, has not been double-blind,

placebo-control tested. Faith in vaccination appears to be greater than the

scientific

evidence to justify vaccination. Senior citizens already take far more

medications than any other segment of the population. The elderly have weaker

immune

systems. The risk of immunization adverse effects rises accordingly.

Increased side effect danger, along with low effectiveness, is a bad

combination.

 

Is their an available alternative? Yes, there may be: give the elderly more

nutrients, rather than more needles. Older people often have inadequate

diets. With ageing and illness, their bodies' need for vital nutrients goes up,

yet frequently their intake actually goes down.

 

Nutritional supplements help fight the flu. Vitamins and minerals have been

shown to significantly reduce incidence and duration of influenza. This was

already known back when many of today's elderly were still middle-aged. 32

years ago, twice Nobel-Prize winner Linus Pauling reviewed the nutritional

literature and determined that high doses of vitamin C reduce the frequency and

shorten the severity of influenza. (12) Orthomolecular (nutritional) physicians

have repeatedly confirmed this. Robert F. Cathcart, MD, successfully treated

thousands of viral-illness patients with massive doses of vitamin C. (13)

Vitamin D also increases resistance to influenza (14), as do the minerals

selenium and zinc. (15)

 

With good nutrition bolstered with supplemental vitamin and mineral intake,

the human body's natural defenses are strengthened and can rapidly adapt to

resist new flu strains. Clinical evidence indicates that nutrition is more

significant that vaccination. Malnutrition is far more dangerous than not

getting vaccinated.

 

No, there is not a vaccination for every illness. It might be nice if there

were, but no shot can make up for poor nutrition.

 

Over-reliance on vaccinating the elderly ignores their fundamental problems

of poor diet and vitamin/mineral deficiencies. These are underlying reasons

for a susceptible immune system. Supplemental nutrition is the " other " immune

system booster. It is time to use it.

 

References:

 

(1) Goodman B. Doubts grow over flu vaccine in elderly.

_http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/02/health/02flu.html_

(http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/02/health/02flu.html) September 2, 2008.

 

(2) Rivetti D, Jefferson T, Thomas R et al. Vaccines for preventing

influenza in the elderly. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2006 Jul 19;3:CD004876.

 

(3) Jefferson T, Rivetti D, Rivetti A et al. Efficacy and effectiveness of

influenza vaccines in elderly people: a systematic review. Lancet. 2005 Oct

1;366(9492):1165-74.

 

(4) Gardner A. Flu vaccine only mildly effective in elderly. HealthDay

Reporter, Sept 21, 2005.

 

(5) Rosenthal E. Flu vaccination and treatment fall far short. International

Herald Tribune, September 22, 2005.

 

(6) Jackson ML, Nelson JC, Weiss NS, Neuzil KM, Barlow W, Jackson LA.

Influenza vaccination and risk of community-acquired pneumonia in

immunocompetent

elderly people: a population-based, nested case-control study. Lancet. 2008

Aug 2;372(9636):398-405.

 

(7) National Technical Information Service, Springfield, VA 22161,

703-487-4650, 703-487-4600.

 

(8) _http://www.fda.gov/fdac/reprints/vaccine.html_

(http://www.fda.gov/fdac/reprints/vaccine.html)

 

(9) KM Severyn in the Dayton Daily News, May 28, 1993 cited at

_http://www.chiropracticresearch.org/NEWSVaccinations.htm_

(http://www.chiropracticresearch.org/NEWSVaccinations.htm)

 

(10) " Investigative Report on the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System. "

National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC), 512 Maple Ave. W. #206, Vienna, VA

22180.

 

(11) DeNoon DJ. Most influenza strains do not match current vaccine.

_http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/570050_

(http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/570050) February 11, 2008. Also: Joe

Bresee, MD, chief, epidemiology and

prevention branch, CDC Influenza Division, Atlanta. CDC news conference, Feb.

8,

2008.

 

(12) Pauling L. Vitamin C, the Common Cold, and the Flu. Freeman, 1976.

 

(13) Cathcart RF. Vitamin C, titrating to bowel tolerance, anascorbemia, and

acute induced scurvy. Med Hypotheses. 1981 Nov;7(11):1359-76.

_http://www.doctoryourself.com/titration.html_

(http://www.doctoryourself.com/titration.html)

 

 

(14) Cannell JJ, Vieth R, Umhau JC, Holick MF, Grant WB, Madronich S,

Garland CF, Giovannucci E. Epidemic influenza and vitamin D. Epidemiol Infect.

2006. Dec;134(6):1129-40.

 

(15) Girodon F, Galan P, Monget AL et al. Impact of trace elements and

vitamin supplementation on immunity and infections in institutionalized elderly

patients: a randomized controlled trial. MIN. VIT. AOX. geriatric network. Arch

Intern Med. 1999 Apr 12;159(7):748-54.

 

For more information:

 

Video questioning influenza vaccine: _http://www.thinktwice.com/flu_show.htm_

(http://www.thinktwice.com/flu_show.htm)

A humorous look at flu vaccine: _http://www.thinktwice.com/Flu_Farce.mov_

(http://www.thinktwice.com/Flu_Farce.mov)

 

For further reading:

 

Miller NZ. Vaccine Safety Manual for Concerned Families and Health

Practitioners: Guide to Immunization Risks and Protection. New Atlantean Press,

2008.

ISBN-10: 1881217353; ISBN-13: 978-1881217350.

Also: Miller NZ. Vaccines: Are They Really Safe and Effective. New Atlantean

Press; Revised Updated Edition, 2008. ISBN-10: 1881217302; ISBN-13:

978-1881217305.

 

Nutritional Medicine is Orthomolecular Medicine

Orthomolecular medicine uses safe, effective nutritional therapy to fight

illness.

For more information: _http://www.orthomolecular.org_

(http://www.orthomolecular.org)

 

 

 

The peer-reviewed Orthomolecular Medicine News Service is a non-profit and

non-commercial informational resource.

 

Editorial Review Board:

 

Damien Downing, M.D.

Harold D. Foster, Ph.D.

Steve Hickey, Ph.D.

Abram Hoffer, M.D., Ph.D.

James A. Jackson, PhD

Bo H. Jonsson, MD, Ph.D

Thomas Levy, M.D., J.D.

Erik Paterson, M.D.

Gert E. Shuitemaker, Ph.D.

 

Andrew W. Saul, Ph.D., Editor and contact person.

Email: _omns_ (omns)

 

 

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