Who's misleading who on flu shot's need,
effectiveness?
DR. COLETTE SZALAY D.C.
Peterborough Times Weekly
February 11, 2004
I
recently saw a large banner above a local "big box" store's car repair
garage advertising, "Immunization for your car...get the 'flu shot' to
protect your car against rust". The ad shows a medical doctor menacingly
holding up a large syringe.
Is it just me or is this flu shot hype
getting a little out of hand?
I know full well I will probably get
an earful from pro-vaccination boosters once this goes to print but I can
no longer hold my tongue. As I write this, the College of Chiropractors of
Ontario (CCO) is considering not allowing its members to say anything
about vaccines since voicing concern about the negative effects may "sway"
their patients.
According to Health Canada, such information is
misleading people and jeopardizing public health.
The question I
pose to the public is who is misleading who?
First, did you know
that all vaccinations in Canada are not mandatory? Most people think that
they need it for work or that their children can't go to school without
vaccinations. This is not only untrue and infringes on your constitutional
rights but public health officials still continue to tell patients they or
their children need to have routine vaccinations rather than it being a
choice you decide upon.
Second, how many times have you been told
about the negative effects of vaccines? Somehow this is conveniently
hidden from public knowledge unless one knows where to find this
information.
Third, who's kidding who when we are told it's a
"free" flu shot? Your tax dollars pay for the purchasing, administering,
and marketing of all vaccines.
Chiropractors are pro-information
and want to let their patients know they have a choice regarding any
procedure done to them and that all risks should be fully disclosed, as is
already mandatory in the chiropractic profession, and that informed
consent should be the only way health care workers can administer such
vaccines.
When you roll up your sleeves you are consenting to the
procedure but you may not have been fully informed of all you should
know.
With regard to the flu vaccine, reactions do occur and,
although experts say you can't get the flu from the vaccine, up to 49 per
cent of people experience systemic reactions after a shot that are similar
to having the flu itself.
The flu vaccine's effectiveness is not
really known. One source stated more than $40 million health care dollars
were spent on a campaign that was only 14 per cent effective and even that
percentage is questionable.
If the vaccine is really that
effective, why are most outbreaks occurring in seniors' residences where
supposedly everyone, including their health care workers, is
vaccinated?
The chance of getting the flu has more to do with a
person's health status rather than the absence or presence of a
vaccination yet the campaign clearly sways the public into thinking you
are "protecting you and your loved ones" by getting this vaccine.
Statistically, you are more likely to avoid the flu if you took nothing at
all. The only way to get natural and permanent immunity to a strain of the
flu virus is to recover naturally.
So far in Peterborough, there
have been at least 12 deaths due to flu-related causes -- 11 seniors and
one child. The local health unit wouldn't disclose if these people were
vaccinated or not for confidentiality reasons. My guess is at least all
the seniors probably were. How effective is this shot then? Instead of
vaccinating already immune-compromised seniors in nursing homes, what
about more efforts at better nutrition and medication alternatives, such
as herbs and daily vitamin supplements? This way, should they get the flu,
they have a much better chance of recovering naturally. What a
concept!
Recently, the New York Times (Jan. 10, 2004) reported Dr.
Lawrence Altman , the dean of American medical writers, stated 93 children
had died in the U.S. from the flu during the winter season. Of those
children, 60 had been vaccinated for the flu. He comments, "The disease
control agency (CDC) recommends a flu vaccination for all healthy children
6 months and older". That doesn't make sense. If two-thirds of these
children died despite having the vaccination, why would this medical
doctor advocate it? This is neither logical nor proper
science.
Further, there are potential dangers to the flu vaccine.
Dr. Hugh Fudenberg , one of the world's leading immunogeneticists, states
the chances of getting Alzheimer disease is 10 times higher if an
individual has five consecutive shots than if they have one, two or no
shots. This is likely due to the thimerosol (a mercury-derived
preservative) and aluminum content of the vaccine.
People need to
know that vaccination in general is still a questionable science. If
vaccines were as safe as claimed to be, why has the U.S. government's
compensation program paid out more than $2 billion dollars to families of
vaccine-injured children (if your child dies due to a vaccine, you are
automatically paid $250,000)? Quebec has a similar program. One can't help
but surmise the strong campaigns to push vaccines are rooted in the profit
margins of pharmaceutical giants.
As a health care provider, I have
a duty to educate my patients to the best of my ability. The word "doctor"
comes from the Latin "to teach". As a Doctor of Chiropractic, I will never
tell a patient "do this or do not do that" with respect to vaccination
because this is clearly my opinion formulated from years of reading and
research.
Instead, I leave you with this information for the
purpose of prompting you to embark on your own further research. Then you
can make the best informed decision for yourself and your
children.
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