Should I Get a Flu Shot?

Headlines read...

Flu More Widespread in US

Flu Season Hits Early and Hard

Flu Cases on Rise at Hospitals

It seems that every year the media hype over the flu and the need to get a flu shot reaches a higher high. "The worst flu season ever... " "Infection rates have officially reached epidemic levels... "

Really?

With drug stores sprouting up on every corner in even the smallest towns, you can't avoid seeing banners that promote getting a flu shot. Cold weather setting in typically signals the start of the flu season. Should you run down to your local pharmacy and get a flu shot?

Flus are not fun. Fever, chills, runny nose, sore throat, cough, muscle aches, vomiting, fatigue and decreased appetite. With some rest they typically run their course in two to three days, with some symptoms hanging on for a week. The fact is dying from the flu is rare. The vast majority of so-called “flu deaths” are due to bacterial pneumonia—a potential complication of the flu if your immune system is weak.

Here are the reasons I do not get a flu shot:

1. The flu shot will likely NOT prevent the flu. A study by the University of Minnesota reported in October, 2011 that flu shots barely make a difference at all and are least effective on seniors and children.
2. The flu shot does NOT protect against flu-related deaths.
3. Flu vaccines contain a best-estimate of flu strains expected to hit the US. If the expected strains don't appear in the US, you've been injected with a list of useless harmful ingredients.
4. The flu vaccine contains a potpourri of poisons. Vaccines may include formaldehyde, mercury (Thimerosal), MSG and other hazardous ingredients.
5. The flu shot will likely weaken your immune system. After being injected with all those hazardous ingredients, your body's immune system and liver will be working overtime to process the toxins. That leaves you vulnerable to disease.
6. You could get seriously ill from the shot. Serious reactions to the flu vaccine can include a life-threatening allergic reaction, Guillain-Barre Syndrome (a severe paralytic disease that is fatal in about 1 in 20 cases) and other serious conditions.

Because the efficacy of the flu shot has been shown to be weak by any measure (62% effective) and much lower in the vulnerable over 65 age group, I can only conclude that flu shots are all about the money. This year's flu shot again includes inoculation for the H1N1 virus—not really a player in the flu outbreaks this year. Just my opinion, but I believe there are stock piles of the H1N1 vaccine due to low turnout to get the vaccination when the threat was active in 2009.

This year, an ample supply and multiple choices of vaccines will make it easy for health care providers to promote vaccination for their patients.

To avoid getting sick with the flu, your best measure is to eat healthy foods to keep your body strong and your immune system at its peak. Follow these Five Steps to make you healthy. Take your Vitamin D or better yet get outside and get some sun!

Have you gotten a flu shot and do you plan to get one this year? If you don't get the flu shot, what are your reasons? If you got a flu shot, did you still get the flu?