LifeCare Chiropractic

The Best Chiropractic Care in Mesa, Arizona

Vaccination

DID THE FLU VACCINE MAKE THE SWINE FLU “PANDEMIC” WORSE?

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DID THE FLU VACCINE MAKE THE SWINE FLU “PANDEMIC” WORSE? Anyone who’s been following my posts through the winter should know my opinion on the flu and swine flu issues and vaccination. In case you haven’t been following it, you can do some of your own research on many countries in the European Union asking the question of just how did the WHO decide that this very mild influenza virus was going to wipe out the planet and countries should spend billions on antivirals (which have been shown to be ineffective) and vaccinations (likewise).

I’ll hold my breath while we see if anyone is held accountable. Just to add to the fun, this review out of Canada found that receiving the seasonal flu vaccination actually increased the risk of being seen by medical personale for the swine flu. I don’t know about you, but I’d like to create some type of marketing scheme like this in my office!! I’d be doing these posts from my own little island in the South Pacific within the year…

DO VACCINES PREVENT INFLUENZA IN ELDERLY?

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NO EVIDENCE THAT FLU VACCINE WORKS IN THE ELDERLY TO PREVENT THE FLU.  First off, you need to understand just who the Cochrane Collaboration is.  They are some of the brightest minds in the WORLD in epidemiology and looking at the data present in studies.  That being said, in a recent review of the flu vaccine for the elderly they found that there are no good studies that suggest it is effective.  That’s not to say it’s not, but there just isn’t any research to suggest it is.

Of course, over the course of some 70 years and untold billions of dollars you’d think there’d be SOME evidence.  On the flip side, there is some weak evidence that Vit D may help prevent influenza infections.  Given that it’s cheaper, safer and helps with a myriad of other things, one would wonder why we see this massive scare complain year after year after year to vaccinate to prevent the flu…

Read entire article here

VACCINATING KIDS TO PROTECT ADULTS??

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VACCINATING KIDS TO PROTECT ADULTS??  I have a serious ethical problem when it comes to vaccinating kids, NOT to protect them, but rather to protect adults.  Hepatitis A in children is usually very minor, and by the age of 10 most kids have antibodies to it, but we vaccinate kids when they enter school so that we can hopefully protect the adults they come in contact with.  So how well does it work?

In this study, they had to vaccinate 83% of the kids against the flu to drop the rate of infection in everyone in the community from 10.6% down to 4.5%.  6 percent drop.  So we have to perform an intervention (keep in mind that many of the flu shots still contain mercury) to most of the kids in an area for a measley drop of 6%?  This is what we call good medicine?  We’ve seen much stronger results from the use of Vitamin D and probiotics, and the side effects there are actually good things!

By the way, if you REALLY look into the numbers on this study, in the group that did NOT get vaccinated in the treatment group, 3.1% got the flu, but when you mix everyone in (those who got the flu vaccine and those that didn’t) the rate was 4.5%.  So basically, if you didn’t get the vaccine, you had a lower risk of getting the flu.

FLU SEASON–JUST HOW EFFECTIVE IS THAT DARN SHOT?

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This is certainly not the first time I’ve addressed the flu vaccine in the Rantings.  But despite my widespread influence, word just doesn’t seem to be getting out.  Given the massive hype that accompanies “flu season” every year and the urging that everyone who can breathe get vaccinated (the lack of recommendations for vaccinating dead people is merely because insurance does not reimburse for treatment of dead people….), one would think that the effectiveness is as clear cut as it gets, right?  Not even close..

Consider this particular study.  First, the authors looked at clinical trials of the flu vaccination that met specific criteria.  One of the more powerful things they did was looked at lab confirmed influenza.  Many studies refer to “influenza-like illness,” which leaves much room for error.  So, authors looked at 5,707 trials over 34 years (1967-2011).  Wow–that is a LOT of trials on the flu vaccine.  Think of the money spent on this number of trials alone.  How many met the criteria for this review?  Take a guess…

31.  Yes, 31.  A smidgen over 0.5% of the studies met this criteria.  This does not mean almost every study was junk science, however, but the use of true lab confirmed influenza is a big differentiating factor for me.

Researchers looked at the trivalent inactivated vaccine (TIV) and the live attenuated influenza vaccine (LIAV).  The virus is still alive in the later, making it a riskier vaccination for those who may have weakened immune systems, which, ironically, are people who are more strongly pushed towards getting vaccinated…

 Here are the results for whether or not the vaccine was even effective against the year’s dominant strain…

  • TIV, in adults (18-65) was effective in 2/3 of the seasons
  • LIAV, in children (6 mos – 7) was effective in 3/4 of the seasons
  • For TIV, no trials in children or seniors met the criteria
  • For LIAV, no trials in children 8-17 met the criteria

So, once we can determine if vaccination is effective, THEN we can look at good it is at preventing the flu…

  • Only 35% of the studies showed vaccine effectiveness against the flu

So what were the authors’ conclusions from all this data?  “Influenza vaccines can provide moderate protection against virologically confirmed influenza, but such protection is greatly reduced or absent in some seasons. Evidence for protection in adults aged 65 years or older is lacking”

So, overall, the flu vaccine, despite being a major, massive, hyped up campaign, and, despite 100 years of it’s use still is questionable as far as how well it works.  These results are not spectacular, and yet we line up in droves to get the flu shot now even at Wal-Mart and Walgreens.  The “public health” campaign to promote this vaccine is nothing if not an incredible study of marketing.  And yet, ironically, few know what a refined carbs truly is or that you can prevent cancer.  Go figure…

So, instead of your annual jab, try things like probiotics, drinking green tea and vitamin D and a healthier lifestyle, all of which can lower your risk of getting the flu and, if you do still catch the flu, will likely lower the severity of the illness.

TRY THIS INSTEAD OF A FLU SHOT FOR YOUR CHILD

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It’s getting to be that time of year again. Flu shots are now available at your doctor’s office, the pharmacy and the car wash (seriously–just ask the windshield chip repair guy if he can give you a flu shot). You would be crazy not to give the child you love and care deeply about a flu shot. But what else can we do instead of the flu shot for your child?

This particular article gives us yet another powerful tool to help support our child’s immune system and keep them healthy during “flu” season. The added bonus is that, if your child does get the flu (which, of course, the flu shot has questionable efficacy and many still get sick), it is likely that the severity of the infection will be lessened.

Researchers found that in elementary schoolchildren who drank about at least one glass of green tea per day had 40% less chance of getting lab confirmed influenza (this is a much higher standard vs “influenza-like illness”). Not too shabby, especially considering that drinking green tea will likely provide a wide range of other benefits like lower risk of obesity and lowered rates of cancer. These are clearly NOT seen with the flu shot (quite the opposite with the concerns of mercury in the thimerosal).

I’m sure there are many of you who are thinking that there is no way that your child would drink green tea. I’m sure this is because you have not tried any of the very exciting flavors available through Republic of Tea, Teavana or China Mist.  Unsweetened, of course.

WANT TO VACCINATE OUR WAY INTO HEALTH?

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Things WORSE after new vaccination implemented? Remember that Mother Nature ALWAYS wins. We cannot vaccinate our way into health. Prevnar was licensed in 2000 to prevent pneumococal pneumonia in infants and children. But it only covers some of the serotypes of the bacteria (kind of like Gardasil???).

We’ve seen studies where the infections from the serotypes affected by the vaccine has gone down, but, like a giant “wac a mole” game, the OTHER serotypes have increased. Now, we are seeing studies that are finding an overall 70% increase in empyema (a very serious side effect of bacterial pneumonia) since the introduction of the vaccine. This is progress?

Read entire article here

 

CHICKEN POX VACCINE IS AWESOME!!

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This particular review looks at just how incredibly effective the chicken pox vaccine has been for our children.  The rates since 1995, when the vaccine was first introduced, have dropped dramatically (88% overall).  Sounds powerful enough to send you running to Walgreens to get your child vaccinated, huh?  Before you start the car, you need to know this..

We’ve talked about the difference between absolute and relative risks and how much they can play with our perceptions.  This is done with statins all the time.  The numbers reported above are RELATIVE risk reductions.  To put it in perspective, if we had a rare cancer of the left eyelash that 2 people got per year and we gave a drug to the entire population of the world and that number dropped to only a single person, this is, arguably, a 50% relative risk reduction.  Sounds impressive until it hits you that we had to treat the entire population of the world to prevent a single case of this cancer.

So where does the truth lie in this review?  In the prevaccination era, in children up to age 9, the number of deaths per year that listed varicella on the death certificate was 29, dropping down to 6 after vaccination was implemented.

We vaccinate an entire population, with an accepted level of adverse reactions to the vaccination, with an increase in shingles in adults (yes–this is considered a direct result of the chicken pox vaccine) to drop the number of deaths by 23.  That’s not a town–that’s the entire US.

Certainly any parent who has lost a child to chicken pox would see things differently.  But what about the mother of the child who has to take breathing treatments for their asthma?  Or the senior dealing with the debilitating pain of post-herpetic neuralgia?

And this is all without taking the cost of vaccination of the entire country to prevent a mere handful of cases.  Which has to play a role in our country’s massive load of health care costs.

Read more…

DO WE REALLY NEED ANOTHER VACCINE FOR OUR INFANTS?

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Rotavirus is one of the most common causes of childhood diarrhea here in the US. While most infants and children fight off the infection without difficulty, there is no question that this infection can be deadly due to the dehydration that occurs. In third world countries, the mortality rates can be much higher. As a result, there remains a strong desire to produce an effective vaccine that will lower the risk of infection. The most recent one that was available here in the US (Rotashield) was pulled off the market due to an increased risk of fatal intussusecption, a condition where the intestine telescope in on itself.. Generally not a good thing for a condition here in the US that does not usually result in death.

We’re back at it again. One could make a good argument that, in third world countries, the push to find a new vaccine in light of the vaccine’s history is a worthy effort. However, much like everything else that occurs when money is involved, the altruism stops when profit is involved.

There has been a strong push to make the rotavirus vaccine mandatory here in the US as well for our infants. Keep in mind that prior vaccination for this condition were pulled off the market because children were dying as a result of the vaccination. A vaccine for a condition that is typically self limiting so long as the child stays well hydrated. Here’s an even more important aspect.

Probiotic supplementation has been shown to lower both the incidence and severity of rotatvirus infections. This means that use of antibiotics, C-sections and not nursing will conversely, increase the risk and severity of the infection.

So, rather than promote the presence of healthy bacteria in the gut of our newborns and infants (which we are still not doing in mainstream medicine despite >100 years of published research on their benefit—talk about slow learners!!), we are adding rotavirus vaccination to the continual lengthening list of childhood vaccinations.

Bottom line is to avoid C-sections whenever possible, promote nursing to at last 6 months and probiotic supplementation for both the mom and the infant. These aspects will go a long way towards improving outcomes and risk of rotavirus infections far greater than any vaccination.

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365-2796.2011.02409.x/abstract