Unbelievably, in spite of the absolute uselessness of the current vaccine, earlier this month officials from the Department of Health and Human Services held a media briefing urging as many Americans as possible to go out and get the shot. Their reasoning is simple: Some protection is better than nothing, and vaccine recipients who do go on to get ill are less likely to end up in hospital with complications.
At first glance, this might seem like a reasonable claim. After all, reducing your chances of contracting a strain of the flu that has already claimed the lives of at least 84 children and resulted in school closures across the country, seems like a good idea. Except if you stop and analyze why the vaccine has such a low success rate this year.
CDC officials have attributed this year’s serious influenza epidemic to the prevalence of H3N2, a viral strain that’s particularly severe and resistant to vaccination. In a report released Thursday, the agency estimated that flu shots were only effective against H3N2 a quarter of the time this season, and only 36% effective overall. [Emphasis added]
So, basically the CDC messed up. The vaccine that everybody is being “urged” to get does not protect against the most common and virulent strain circulating this year.
Of course, that isn’t stopping them from pushing everyone to get (and pay) for the vaccine, anyway. TIME reported further:
Still, unvaccinated people are urged to get the shot, as it’s more effective against non-H3N2 strains, which are beginning to circulate more widely at this point in the season. The vaccine may also reduce the severity of symptoms in those who do get sick. Children, especially, should get vaccinated, as the CDC estimates that the shot is up to 59% effective against H3N2 among kids between six months and eight years old.
Is that even possible? How could a flu vaccine that is ineffective against the prevailing strain of the flu, even in healthy adults, somehow offer protection to two-thirds of children in the age group most severely affected by this year’s virus?
USA Today reported accurately that the most common and dangerous strain of the flu this year has been the A (H3N2) strain, and that the vaccine is likely as ineffective as it has turned out to be because that strain mutates constantly and is no longer responsive to the vaccine. Experts claim that the vaccine protects mainly against the A (H1N1) strain, which is not the prevailing strain.
It is also important to recognize that flu vaccines are not only ineffective; they are also dangerous.
Dr. Suzanne Humphries, a respected nephrologist, has warned, “There’s one great study that showed that after you take an influenza vaccine, you are 4-5 times more likely to get either a different strain of influenza infection or a non-influenza viral infection that can be very nasty, like coxsackievirus and echovirus – they can actually paralyze you.” (Related: Flu shots scientifically proven to weaken immune response in subsequent years ... Researchers stunned.)
And think about this: If the CDC and other “experts” are really so concerned about people and want to make sure that they don't get this deadly illness, why not produce a new vaccine that does actually protect people against the current strain? Why push everyone to get a shot that only has a 36 percent efficacy rate and leaves people more vulnerable to other strains of the virus for years to come? Makes you wonder, doesn’t it? (Related: Find out everything you need to know to stay healthy at Medicine.news.)
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