By Dr. Mercola
Despite powerful evidence to the contrary, the conventional
view is that the best way to protect yourself against influenza
is to get a seasonal flu shot. This flies in the face of a
multitude of studies showing that:
- The flu vaccine fails to work for many people.
Case in point: The 2012/2013 flu vaccine contained a very
good match to the circulating strains, yet the reported
effectiveness of the vaccine was still only
slightly over 60 percent.
According to Michael Osterholm, director of the Center
for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University
of Minnesota:1
"A match doesn't tell us how well a vaccine is going to
work. It's almost meaningless."
- Vaccinating against one strain of influenza may actually
increase your risk of exposure to related but
different strains.
The latter point makes recent vaccine developments
particularly troublesome, as vaccine researchers are hard at
work developing a “universal” flu vaccine that is supposed to
protect against virtually all subtypes of
influenza—hypothetically, at least.
As new research shows, this may be a very dangerous
hypothesis to pursue in order to promote the idea that universal
use of a “universal” flu vaccine is necessary and will be a safe
and effective public health policy.
Could Universal Flu Vaccine Result in Universal Poor Health?
Recent research2
on pigs, using whole, killed flu viruses, raises very important
questions about the approach taken in the development of a
universal flu vaccine. The study in piglets found that getting
vaccinated against one strain of influenza raised the risk of
severe infection with a related but different influenza strain.
It may be worth noting that the researchers are all with
either the US Department of Agriculture’s Research Service or
the US Food and Drug Administration, should anyone want to
dismiss these findings as propaganda thought up by the vaccine
safety and choice movement.
The researchers refer to this effect as “vaccine-associated
enhanced respiratory disease.” Wisely enough, they recommend
their findings “should be considered during the development and
assessment of experimental universal flu vaccines.” According to
the senior author Dr. Amy Vincent:3
“We need to ask questions and make sure the
appropriate experiments and studies are done to ensure this
will or will not happen in different vaccine scenarios.”
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has recently
approved several new flu vaccines, including quadrivalent (four
strain) vaccines using eggs for production, as well as trivalent
vaccines.
These were created using either a baculovirus (army worm)
expression system or MDCK (dog kidney) cells and recombinant DNA
technology4
for production--the first of its kind. These new influenza
vaccines using novel cell substrates may be opening the door to
a whole host of potential unknown health effects, both short-
and long-term.
This season you will have quite an array of flu vaccines to
choose from. As recently reported in Time Magazine,5
available choices this year will include:
- Standard three-strain flu vaccine. This year’s version
includes influenza strains H1N1 and H3N2, and an influenza B
virus
- Quadrivalent, or four-strain vaccine, which includes two
A class of viruses and two from the B class, which tends to
cause illness primarily in young children
- Nasal spray, called FluMist. This year it will contain
four strains opposed to three, matching the quadrivalent
injection
- Egg-free vaccine (FluBlok), in which the influenza virus
were grown in caterpillar cells instead of chicken eggs
- High-dose vaccines, promoted for seniors aged 65 and
over
- Intradermal vaccine, promoted for those afraid of
needles. The vaccine is delivered through a panel of
micro-needles rather than a single needle
Will a 'Universal' Flu Vaccine Work?
Typically, most flu vaccines stimulate the production of
antibodies to the main protein of the flu virus, called
hemagglutinin, which is located on the outer shell of the virus.
This protein gives you the “H” designation of a given strain,
and it is this protein that attaches to the cell it’s trying to
invade. There are 17 known hemagglutinins and the antibodies
created to an H1 virus will not protect against an H3 or H5
virus, and so on.
Making matters even more complex, there are also different
strains within each of these subtypes, and the artificial
immunity you get from a vaccine may or may not extend to all
strains of any given hemagglutinin subtype. So the vaccine
industry is trying to boost vaccine acquired immunity by
targeting “stalk antibodies.”
Here’s what this means, and why their efforts may end up
producing the opposite effect they’re seeking: The hemagglutinin
is shaped much like a lollipop, with the mutating part making up
the head. Researchers have learned that the stem or stalk of the
protein, on the other hand, tends to remain fairly unchanged
across the various viruses. This is the discovery that has
resulted in the current search for a “universal” flu vaccine.
Vaccine developers believe that by removing the head portion,
namely the stalk—i.e. the dominant protein portion of the
virus—they might be able to induce cross-reactive antibodies
capable of protecting against virtually any influenza virus,
regardless of whether it’s an H1, H3, or H5, and so on.
The recent flu vaccine research in pigs raises a huge
red flag calling into question the validity of this hypothesis,
however. After giving piglets an H1N2 vaccine, they were then
exposed to the H1N1 virus in circulation during 2009. As
reported in the featured article:
“Instead of being protected, the H1N2-vaccinated pigs
developed more severe disease than exposed pigs that hadn’t
been pre-vaccinated. When the researchers tested the blood
of the vaccinated pigs, they found high levels of
antibodies that attached to the stalk of the H1N1
hemagglutinin, but not to the head of the protein.
Vincent said she and her colleagues are still trying
to figure out why this produces more severe disease.
But the theory is that while the stalk antibodies
can’t neutralize or kill invading viruses, they do bind to
them. And that may actually help the viruses enter the cells
and multiply to higher levels—the paper calls them
'fusion enhancing.'” [Emphasis mine]
Canadian Results from 2009 Pandemic May Offer Glimpse of
Troubles to Come
We saw evidence of this “fusion enhancing” scenario in Canada
during the 2009 H1N1 pandemic. The connection between previous
flu vaccination and increased risk of disease during the 2009
season was initially spotted by Dr. Danuta Skowronski, a flu
expert at the Canadian B.C. Centre for Disease Control.
She noticed that people who had gotten a flu shot the
previous fall were MORE likely to succumb to the novel H1N1
strain, compared to those who had not received a flu shot the
previous year.6
When blood samples from 27 healthy, unvaccinated children and 14
children who had received an annual flu shot were compared, the
former unvaccinated group naturally built up more antibodies
across a wider variety of influenza strains compared to
the latter vaccinated group.
Not surprisingly, her findings were promptly dismissed by the
influenza community at large. Some dubbed it “the Canadian
problem,” although it’s unclear why anyone would think that such
consequences would be limited within the confines of the
Canadian borders... A similar trend was also noted in data from
Hong Kong,7
should anyone be tempted to write off the Canadian data as being
an anomaly.
Dr. Skowronski’s team tested the hypothesis on ferrets,8
and found that the ferrets in the vaccine group also became
significantly sicker than the unvaccinated animals. As reported
in the featured article:9
“Asked about Vincent’s study, Skowronski said she’s
been watching results from that group for years, and even
cited vaccine-associated enhanced respiratory disease when
she was asked by skeptics to describe what might explain her
unexpected results in 2009.
'I think... what they’re showing is a biological
mechanism that warrants further evaluation in terms of its
relevance to the use of seasonal vaccines in human...”
Skowronski said. 'It’s concerning, obviously, because if
this is the mechanism, then it means there needs to be a lot
more... attention paid to these universal vaccine candidates
that are targeting that stalk antibody.'
The big question is, are we in fact weakening our
overall ability to fight viruses by getting too many
vaccines? While this question can apply to any vaccine, it’s
particularly pertinent with regards to influenza vaccine,
which public health officials say we must get each and every
year from the age of six months throughout our lives until
death! An even larger question, and one which researchers
have only just begun to scratch the surface of, is whether
or not universal use of vaccines can have a generational
effect.
Infants Born to Vaccinated Mothers May Lose Initial Immunity
Sooner
One study offering a glimpse into this question was recently
published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases.10
As reported by Medical News Today:11
“Newborns are protected from measles, mumps, and
rubella during their first few months of life by antibodies
they receive from their mothers. An infant's level of
immunity is based, in part, on the mother's blood antibody
level. A child's first dose of MMR vaccine is usually
administered at around age one. Prior to the first
vaccination, however, an infant's immunity begins to wane.
Previous studies have demonstrated that mothers who
received MMR vaccination tend to have a lower concentration
of measles-specific antibodies compared to mothers who
naturally acquired measles infection. As a result, babies
born to mothers who received the MMR vaccine have a shorter
duration of protection and may remain unprotected for a
period of time before they receive the first vaccination.”
The study in question12
found that infants born to mothers who received the
measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine lose natural, passively
acquired immunity from their mothers sooner than those born to
mothers who’d been naturally infected with measles.
Another study13
published in the same issue of the same journal found that, on
average, the duration of passive protection against measles was
two months longer for infants born to unvaccinated
mothers.
Sadly, the authors use these worrying facts to support
recommendations to get infants vaccinated sooner, rather than
address the elephant in the room, which is whether or not we’re
seriously compromising natural immunity over generations.
Contracting a childhood disease naturally creates a positive
feedback loop of robust, longer lasting immunity that is then
transferred to your baby (if you’re a woman) and kept in place
during early infancy.
By mass-vaccinating against childhood diseases that are not
deadly for the vast majority of children in the U.S. and other
developed countries with good sanitation, nutritous food and
health care, are we slowly but surely, one generation at a time,
eliminating the body’s natural ability to develop a
qualitatively superior immunity to infectious diseases? And if
so, where does that leave us? And, more importantly, why are we
trading a more robust and longer lasting natural immunity for an
artificial more temporary vaccine acquired immunity?
UNICEF Monitors and Defames Health Sites for Reporting Vaccine
Research
Getting back to the flu vaccine, a recent review of published
research shows flu vaccines are marginally effective at best,
and produce neurological complications at worst, while having no
effect at all on hospitalizations or working days lost. One of
the most recent examples is the devastating side effects of the
2009-2010 flu vaccine, which caused some 800+ cases of
narcolepsy in Sweden and other European countries.14
Despite such evidence, vaccine-safety and choice advocates
such as myself are being increasingly targeted by the vaccine
industry and those associated with that very profitable
industry. We’re the “bad guys,” apparently simply
because we bring the scientific evidence to the attention of the
public and urge that everyone make well-educated vaccine and
other health care decisions..
For example, a new report15
by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) reveals that the
organization is tracking "the rise of online anti-vaccination
sentiments in Central and Eastern Europe,” and has identified
the most influential “anti-vaccine influencers” on the web. This
list includes yours truly, along with other independent health
websites like GreenMedInfo.com, Mothering.com and
NaturalNews.com, just to name a few.
This is indeed a sad state of affairs.
Instead of addressing the scientific evidence showing the
potential harm of vaccines, both short- and long-term (perhaps
even generational), they’re spending precious time, resources
and brain power on public relations schemes to convince you
not to pay attention to the available science. After all,
many of the referenced articles published in this newsletter and
on Mercola.com highlight documented evidence published in
peer-reviewed journals! The only reason they’ve tagged me as an
“anti-vaccine influencer” charged with the crime of lowering
vaccine uptake, is because they’d rather keep that evidence
under wraps so the public remains uninformed.
As stated by Sayer Ji, owner of Greenmedinfo.com:
“UNICEF's opening reference to the 'lie'
(misinformation) spread by the above-mentioned web-based
organizations indicates that while the document purports to
be analytical and descriptive, it has proscriptive and
defamatory undertones, and only thinly conceals an agenda to
discredit opposing views and voices.
UNICEF's derogatory stance is all the more surprising
considering that websites such as GreenMedinfo.com
aggregate, disseminate and provide open access to
peer-reviewed research on vaccine adverse effects and safety
concerns extracted directly from the US National Library of
Medicine, much of which comes from high-impact journals.”
Flu Vaccines Fail to Work Well According to Independent Research
Review
Take the independent study review from the Cochrane
Collaboration, for example. As Tom Jefferson, a researcher with
the Cochrane Collaboration told Northwestern.edu:16
“There is no evidence that vaccines can prevent deaths or
prevent person-to-person spread of infection.”
According to these independent research reviewers:17
“At best, vaccines might be effective against only
influenza A and B, which represent about 10 percent of all
circulating viruses. Authors of this review assessed all
trials that compared vaccinated people with unvaccinated
people. The combined results of these trials showed that
under ideal conditions (vaccine completely matching
circulating viral configuration) 33 healthy adults need to
be vaccinated to avoid one set of influenza symptoms. In
average conditions (partially matching vaccine) 100 people
need to be vaccinated to avoid one set of influenza
symptoms.
Vaccine use did not affect the number of people
hospitalized or working days lost but caused one case of
Guillian-Barré syndrome (a major neurological condition
leading to paralysis) for every one million vaccinations.
Fifteen of the 36 trials were funded by vaccine
companies and four had no funding declaration. Our results
may be an optimistic estimate because company-sponsored
influenza vaccines trials tend to produce results favorable
to their products and some of the evidence comes from trials
carried out in ideal viral circulation and matching
conditions and because the harms evidence base is limited.”
Protect Your Right to Informed Consent and Vaccine Exemptions
With all the uncertainty surrounding the safety and efficacy
of vaccines, it's critical to protect your right to informed
consent to vaccination and fight to protect and expand vaccine
exemptions in state public health laws. The best way to do this
is to get personally involved with your state legislators and
the leaders in your community.
THINK GLOBALLY, ACT LOCALLY.
Mass vaccination policies are made at the federal level but
vaccine laws are made at the state level. It is at the state
level where your action to protect your vaccine choice rights
can have the greatest impact. It is critical for EVERYONE to get
involved now in standing up for the legal right to make vaccine
choices in America because those choices are being threatened by
lobbyists representing drug companies, medical trade
associations and public health officials, who are trying to
persuade legislators to strip all vaccine exemptions from public
health laws.
Signing up for the National Vaccine Information Center’s free
Advocacy Portal at
www.NVICAdvocacy.org gives you immediate, easy access to
your own state legislators on your Smart Phone or computer so
you can make your voice heard. You will be kept up-to-date on
the latest state bills threatening your vaccine choices and get
practical, useful information to help you become an effective
vaccine choice advocate in your own community. Also, when
national vaccine issues come up, you will have the up-to-date
information and call to action items you need at your
fingertips.
So please, as your first step,
sign up for
the NVIC Advocacy Portal.
Share Your Story with the Media and People You Know
If you or a family member has suffered a serious vaccine
reaction, injury or death, please talk about it. If we don't
share information and experiences with each other, everybody
feels alone and afraid to speak up. Write a letter to the editor
if you have a different perspective on a vaccine story that
appears in your local newspaper. Make a call in to a radio talk
show that is only presenting one side of the vaccine story.
I must be frank with you; you have to be brave because you
might be strongly criticized for daring to talk about the "other
side" of the vaccine story. Be prepared for it and have the
courage to not back down. Only by sharing our perspective and
what we know to be true about vaccination will the public
conversation about vaccination open up so people are not afraid
to talk about it.
We cannot allow the drug companies and medical trade
associations funded by drug companies or public health officials
promoting forced use of a growing list of vaccines to dominate
the conversation about vaccination. The vaccine injured cannot
be swept under the carpet and treated like nothing more than
"statistically acceptable collateral damage" of national
one-size-fits-all mandatory vaccination policies that put way
too many people at risk for injury and death. We should be
treating people like human beings instead of guinea pigs.
Internet Resources Where You Can Learn More
I encourage you to visit the following web pages on the
National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC) website at
www.NVIC.org:
-
NVIC
Memorial for Vaccine Victims: View descriptions
and photos of children and adults, who have suffered vaccine
reactions, injuries and deaths. If you or your child
experiences an adverse vaccine event, please consider
posting and sharing your story here.
-
If
You Vaccinate, Ask 8 Questions: Learn how to
recognize vaccine reaction symptoms and prevent vaccine
injuries.
-
Vaccine Freedom Wall: View or post descriptions
of harassment and sanctions by doctors, employers, school
and health officials for making independent vaccine choices.
Connect with Your Doctor or Find a New One that Will Listen and
Care
If your pediatrician or doctor refuses to provide medical
care to you or your child unless you agree to get vaccines you
don't want, I strongly encourage you to have the courage to
find another doctor. Harassment, intimidation, and refusal
of medical care is becoming the modus operandi of the medical
establishment in an effort to stop the change in attitude of
many parents about vaccinations after they become truly educated
about health and vaccination.
However, there is hope.
At least 15 percent of young doctors recently polled admit
that they're starting to adopt a more individualized approach to
vaccinations in direct response to the vaccine safety concerns
of parents. It is good news that there is a growing number of
smart young doctors, who prefer to work as partners with parents
in making personalized vaccine decisions for children, including
delaying vaccinations or giving children fewer vaccines on the
same day or continuing to provide medical care for those
families, who decline use of one or more vaccines.
So take the time to locate a doctor, who treats you with
compassion and respect and is willing to work with you to do
what is right for your child.
© Copyright 1997-2013 Dr. Joseph Mercola. All Rights Reserved.