More and more, businesses, schools, and medical facilities are requiring their employees and students to get flu shots. While this might sound altruistic, there are several problems with these policies. First, the flu shot doesn’t always work. Second, flu shots do have side effects. And third, these policies are based on flawed research.
Still, many people must have a flu shot in order to remain employed or attend the school. If you’re in this situation, what can you do? And what alternatives exist to prevent the flu and fight it if you do catch the virus?…
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I’ve detailed in the past how ineffective flu vaccines are. There are years when the vaccine reaches 20% effectiveness and the CDC jumps for joy. Sometimes it doesn’t work at all – and sometimes it actually results in the flu. Still, hospitals and other institutions require their employees to get the shots. These institutions don’t consider the harm they’re causing their employees.
Most people don’t know that hospitals have been more aggressive at requiring flu shots to comply with federal guidelines that increase hospital reimbursement from the federal government. So the more aggressive policies seem to be more about financial benefit to the medical institution than they are about the health of employees or patients.
What’s worse is that they don’t realize their policies are based on flawed research.
Common Side Effects of the Flu Vaccine
While most doctors and nurses will tell you the flu vaccine is perfectly safe, there are some very common side effects of these shots. They include:
- Pain at injection side
- Redness and swelling at injection site
- Headache
- Fatigue or malaise (feeling tired)
- Red or itchy eyes
- Hoarse voice
- Cough
- Fever
Because of these side effects, some people prefer the nasal spray flu vaccine instead. But these have some very common side effects as well. They include:
- Runny nose, congestion, or cough
- Fever
- Headache or muscle aches
- Wheezing (typically in children)
- Abdominal pain or occasional vomiting or diarrhea (typically in children)
- Sore throat
- Weakness or fatigue (feeling tired)
Then there are the less common, but still possible, serious and life-threatening reactions to the flu vaccines. These include:
- Anaphylaxis – This reaction is due to a severe, life-threatening allergic response. You can have an anaphylactic reaction to any component of the vaccine. Most people are allergic to the chicken eggs used in the vaccine. Obviously, if you know you’re allergic to any of the ingredients in the flu vaccine, you should avoid both the flu shot and the nasal spray flu vaccine. If your employer or school requires a flu vaccine, you’ll need to have your doctor contact your employer and explain your medical exemption.
- Guillain-Barre Syndrome – They say this is a very rare side effect, but it does happen. The first evidence came in 1976, when a swine flu vaccine was linked to Guillain-Barre syndrome. Since then, the CDC has held that there is no link that has been identified between seasonal flu vaccines and this disorder. However, it still happens – far more often than the CDC admits. The CDC says it occurs in one to two people out of every million that get the flu shot. That’s only the cases that are reported, and directly connected to the virus. Doctors often ignore the link to the vaccine, and don’t report it. Or they attribute the case to other causes. The vaccines also can cause Epstein Barr and other viral infections.
- Long-term fatigue after flu-like symptoms– A growing number of doctors are seeing patients with this complaint.
Flawed Research Produces Overbearing Policies
There’s ample proof that flu vaccines do cause problems. And there’s even more evidence that they don’t work. What’s more, these policies are based on flawed research, says a study published in Plos ONE in January 2017. The study, according to STATnews.com, “concludes that the research used to justify mandatory flu shots for health sector workers is flawed, and that the policies cannot plausibly produce the benefits that had widely been assumed.”
These hospitals regularly point to four specific studies to support their position that vaccinating health care workers reduces the risk of vulnerable patients contracting influenza from caregivers.
But the studies they use just don’t stand up to scrutiny, the authors of the new paper said. Here’s why: “None of the studies were conducted in hospitals; all took place in long-term care facilities. One the studies, from Britain, calculated that one influenza death would be averted for every eight staff members vaccinated.
“But if that were correct, vaccinating the estimated 1.7 million health care workers employed in long-term care in the United States should prevent 212,500 flu deaths a year among residents. There’s an obvious problem though, the paper noted. Nowhere near that many people die from flu in the U.S.
“The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates there are between 3,000 and 49,000 flu deaths a year in this country, including people of all ages. The death toll varies depending on which strain of flu is causing the most illness and how well-matched the strains in the vaccine are to the viruses making people sick.
“If the calculation is applied to the 5.5 million hospital workers, mandatory flu shots should avert 687,500 deaths each year – more than the number of Americans who died in the 1918 Spanish flu, estimated to be 675,000. The Spanish flu was the worst influenza pandemic in known history.”
So What Should You Do?
Despite the clear issues with these policies, hospitals and other institutions still mandate flu vaccines. So what can you do if you must have a flu vaccine? Fortunately, some doctors are finding a safer way to deliver the vaccine and meet the requirement.
The policies do not specify a dosage for the vaccine. Only that you have the annual flu vaccine. So some clinics around the country are moving toward micro-dose vaccines mixed with glutathione.
Glutathione, as you may know, is a premier antioxidant and heavy metal scavenger (remover). That means it can protect you against the possible side effects of the vaccine. And it can help detox any of the ingredients that can cause problems. With this micro-dose vaccine, you’re able to fulfill the requirements of your institution’s policy and greatly reduce your risk from the vaccine.
As can be seen with homeopathics and other treatments, micro-doses can be just as effective as full-doses. Some clinics have observed this phenomenon with low-dose chemotherapy. So don’t be concerned that the dose is smaller. It’s likely all you’ll need to avoid the flu.
More Ways to Protect Yourself From the Flu
If you want to do more to prevent the flu, here are a few more ideas. I’ve mentioned in the past how effective vitamin D, EpiCor, the homeopathic Oscillococcinum, and elderberry can be for preventing and fighting the flu.
Also, if you have the flu, make sure you have access to a doctor who uses IV vitamin C. It’s very helpful to resolve acute cases of the flu. This treatment can also be done with laser detox. The combination usually brings about immediate improvement and resolution within one day. If your doctor doesn’t use IV vitamin C, you can take buffered powder or liposomal vitamin C. Either one is good. If price is a concern, start with the buffered powder. And try to find a product that doesn’t contain corn. While this isn’t a deal breaker, it’s best to avoid corn, as most of it is genetically modified.
Finally, one fantastic in-home treatment for any kind of respiratory illness is hydrogen peroxide. Most people know about hydrogen peroxide as a topical antiseptic. Well, it works just as well inside your lungs. Obviously, ingesting hydrogen peroxide wouldn’t help your lungs. So how can you get the peroxide to the right place?
The answer is a nebulizer, which is a small machine that causes a solution to form tiny bubbles that look like smoke. When you inhale these tiny bubbles, the peroxide goes straight into your lungs.
However, there’s one big caveat: DON’T USE OVER-THE-COUNTER PEROXIDE! You’ll need to ask your doctor to make up a solution of peroxide made out of saline and pharmaceutical grade peroxide. Just ask your doctor to use this formula: To a 250 cc bag of normal saline add 5 cc of pharmaceutical grade 3% hydrogen peroxide.
To use the mixture, simply put a small amount in the small reservoir of the nebulizer. Place the face mask over your face and turn on the machine. While you’re breathing in the tiny bubbles of saline and peroxide, it’s going to work to clear your sinuses, mouth, throat, and lungs of any bacteria that might be there. Then, as it begins to work into your tissues, it creates oxygen that helps kill any cells with active viruses in them. This prevents the cells from replicating and spreading the virus.
With all these weapons available to fight the flu and other viruses (and bacteria), there’s really no need for the flu shot. But if you must get the shot, find a doctor that will use the micro-dose/glutathione combination. It could spare you from any unwanted side effects, and satisfy your employer’s policy.
Sources:
Contentious flu vaccine policies at hospitals are based on flawed research, study says