Should Pregnant Women Receive the Flu Vaccine?

by Dr. David Brownstein
Holistic Family Medicine

I have written to you about the flu vaccine in past blogs. The CDC and all other mainstream organizations actively promote the flu shot for all pregnant women. In fact, the CDC states, “The flu shot is safe for pregnant women.” (1)

Getting the flu during pregnancy can cause complications such as dehydration as well as inducing premature labor. A recent study found prolonged fever due to the flu virus was associated with an increase in a diagnosis of autism. (2) The Powers-That-Be seized on this and reiterated their recommendations that pregnant women receive the flu vaccine.

Another study found that maternal inflammation during pregnancy increased the risk of autism being diagnosed in the child.(3) The scientists found that elevated C-reactive protein (CRP) was correlated with childhood autism risk. CRP can be ordered in a blood test. It is a marker of inflammation. Many things can raise CRP levels including infections, injuries and autoimmune conditions. The authors concluded that “…maternal inflammation may have significant role in autism (development).”

Now, let’ go back to the flu vaccine. All vaccines, the flu vaccine included, provoke an inflammatory response in the body. In fact, there are many substances added to vaccines in order to provoke an inflammatory response. The idea is that a robust inflammatory response will provoke the immune system to respond to the vaccine and produce antibodies.

Does the flu vaccine promote inflammation? You bet it does. The flu vaccine was found to cause a significant increase in CRP after vaccination. (4) To be fair, the authors of this study claim that the inflammatory response elicited by the flu vaccine was milder than seen in infectious illness.

Is the flu vaccine effective at preventing the flu? The answer is easy—‘No’. I posted a blog about this on March 10, 2013. At best, the flu vaccine is 17% effective at preventing the flu. (5) Of course this is not for pregnant women as there have been zero studies done to ascertain the effectiveness or safety of the flu vaccine in pregnant women. Let’s assume that the flu vaccine truly is 17% effective at preventing the flu. That means 6 pregnant women would need to be injected with the flu vaccine to prevent one case of the flu. In other words, the flu vaccine is 83% ineffective for preventing the flu since the other 5 patients received the vaccine without getting any benefit. Remember, those five other patients may have suffered adverse effects from the vaccine. With those odds, who would take the flu vaccine? Keep in mind, the study (5) that I am citing was biased to show a positive effect from the flu vaccine.

Before you make your final decision on whether to take a flu shot during pregnancy, keep in mind that flu vaccine contains mercury. How many studies do you need to ascertain whether it is safe to inject mercury into a pregnant woman? I don’t think we need any studies here—mercury should never be injected into any living being.

Let me sum this up: the flu vaccine contains toxic substances like mercury, provokes inflammation and is not very effective. Should a pregnant woman get a flu vaccine? I think the answer is clear—no. Should anyone ever get a flu vaccine? Well, if it doesn’t work for the vast majority that get it and it contains toxic substances, the answer is clear—no.

Final Thoughts

The Flu vaccine has never been shown to significantly prevent a large percentage of the population from contracting the flu. We waste too much money on ineffective therapies, the flu vaccine being a perfect case in point. We would do better to study natural therapies that augment the functioning of the immune system.

Read the full article here: http://blog.drbrownstein.com/should-pregnant-women-get-vaccinated-for-the-flu/

Sources

(1) http://www.cdc.gov/flu/protect/vaccine/pregnant.htm

(2) Journal of Pediatrics. December, 2012. VOl. 130, n.6

(3) Mol. Psychiatry. Jan 22, 2013

(4) Vaccine. 2011. Nov. 8;29(48)

(5) http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6297a2.htm. Accessed 3.10.13

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