WSJ Article on Flu Shots: Perfect Example of Fake News!
by David Brownstein, M.D.
DrBrownstein.com
My friend Brad texted me during the Michigan-Michigan State football game yesterday telling me I have to read the flu shot article in the WSJ and write about it.
Well, I got home from the BIG Michigan victory (Go Blue!) and promptly read the November 16, 2019 article (https://www.wsj.com/articles/one-problem-with-flu-shot-not-enough-people-get-it-11573813801?mod=searchresults&page=1&pos=1).
This article must have been supplied to the WSJ writer by Big Pharma as this was nothing more than a promotional spot for why we should be vaccinated against the flu.
Let me give you my opinion and the true facts behind the flu vaccine then you can make an informed choice on whether to receive the flu vaccination or not.
When you decide, please write me a note. I love hearing from my readers whether you agree with me or not. I will go through much of the article and comment on what is true and what is fake news.
The WSJ article starts by stating, “Each year, influenza sickens millions of people. But typically, too few Americans get the flu shot to shield everyone from the contagious disease.”
The article then states that babies and those who cannot be vaccinated are put at risk when people decide to forgo the flu vaccine.
True News: Yes, millions do get the flu each year.
Fake News: The flu shot has NEVER BEEN SHOWN to prevent transmission of the flu. The best it can do is to limit the symptoms in an infected person. That person can still transmit the flu virus to others.
The flu vaccine is not the only vaccine that fails to stop the spread of disease. Diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, polio (injectable) and the meningitis vaccines all fail to prevent the spread of the respective illnesses, but that’s another article.
To claim the flu shot will protect the spread of influenza to those with immune systems that are vulnerable is…FAKE NEWS!
The article states, “…there are life-threatening conditions that the {influenza virus} can trigger, including inflammation of the heart, brain or spinal cord. A nursing expert stated, “It’s really the complications related to the flu that we should be scared about. That’s what the vaccine helps to prevent or reduce.”
True News: Influenza can cause serious complications including those mentioned above. The greatest risk of complications from the flu do occur in children and the elderly.
Fake News: The flu shot has NEVER BEEN SHOWN TO REDUCE SERIOUS COMPLICATIONS SUCH AS PNEUMONIA OR HOSPTILIZATION FROM INFLUENZA INFECTION IN CHILDREN, HEALTHY ADULTS AND THE ELDERLY!
Cochrane is an independent group of scientists who evaluate evidence from research. They do not take funding from Big Pharm and other commercial interests and therefore their reviews should be carefully weighed.
A 2018 Cochrane Review on Vaccines for Preventing Influenza in Healthy Children (1) reported that there was “…no data on…hospitalisation{sic}.” The authors further reported limited evidence for the treatment of lower respiratory tract disease (i.e., pneumonia). The Cochrane authors further state, “To date no studies have adequately measured or reported hospitalisation (sic) {benefits of the influenza vaccine}.”
Another Cochrane review on influenza vaccines in healthy adults found flu shots “…had no effect on hospital admissions or complication rates.” (2)
In the elderly, a third Cochrane Review (3) found that there was inadequate data available to assess whether flu shots decrease this risk of pneumonia or hospitalization in the elderly.
Since the flu shot, at best, provides a one percent benefit for the elderly at preventing the flu, I can assure you that there will never be data that shows the flu vaccine prevents serious complications from influenza infection in this population.
It is FAKE NEWS to state that the flu shot significantly lowers ones risk for serious complications from the flu.
The author of the article wrote, “At greatest risk of senior citizens. People age 65 and older accounted for 86% of flu-related death and 69% of hospitalizations in the 2017-2018 flu season. Altogether, an estimated 960,000 people were hospitalized that season and more than 79,000 died.”
True News: The elderly are at greatest risk of influenza.
Fake News: As stated above, the flu vaccine has NEVER been shown to protect those aged 65 and older. And, 79,000 dying from the flu last year?
No way. The CDC annually gins up the number of deaths from the flu by reporting pneumonia and flu deaths as one number. Then, the CDC reports this number as the total dying from the flu.
However, the yearly number who actually die from the flu are tens of thousands lower than who die from influenza.
I have written about this shifty practice many times–see this blog post for more information: https://www.drbrownstein.com/the-truth-about-the-flu-vaccine/.
The number who die from the flu range from a few hundred to a few thousand per year. Since the flu vaccine does not prevent pneumonia, and pneumonia deaths vastly outnumber flu deaths sometimes 20-40x, there is simply no reason to lump the numbers together unless you want to unnecessarily scare the population into getting a flu vaccine. To further confuse us, the CDC has recently stopped reporting the breakdown between who actually died from the flu and who died from [pneumonia].
I have only covered about one-third of the WSJ article. But, that is enough. The WSJ should research better before reporting Big Pharma talking points.
The flu shot is not without adverse effects. Many flu shots contain mercury which is the second most toxic substance known to mankind. Mercury should never be injected into any living being. There are other toxins in the flu vaccine.
The flu vaccine is the most common vaccine compensated by the Federal Government for adverse effects. I could write a lengthy article about the adverse effects from the flu vaccine, but that is for another time.
Should you get a flu shot? Hopefully you now have the information available to you in order to make an informed decision. If you want to read more about the failures of the flu shot, just search in the blog search box “flu” and a host of articles will pop up.
References
(4) https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr68/nvsr68_09-508.pdf
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