Wednesday 30 April 2014

Vaccination Stress - Investigate Before You Vaccinate

We Urge You to Investigate Before You Vaccinate Because Every Issue Has Two Sides… 

Flu season is upon us.  Epidemics of flu happen every year but we are already seeing miserable symptoms like fever, coughs, congestion and body aches in Clinic.  What goes hand in hand with the flu season is medical experts like Influenza Specialist Group (ISG) urging Australians to get the flu vaccination.  Each year the flu causes more than 18,000 hospitalisations in Australia and costs our healthcare system an estimated $85 million.  So is the flu vaccination right for you or is there an alternative? 

Influenza, or the common ‘flu’, is caused by a virus and mainly spreads through the air by coughing, sneezing or talking, and by direct contact with an infected person’s hands, surface or object.  It is thought that the flu virus can survive for more than 8 hours on a hard surface; therefore touching contaminated surfaces without then washing your hands can lead to infection.  It infects your respiratory system such as the nose, throat and sometimes your lungs.  Symptoms can be mild or severe and lead to complications such as pneumonia and bronchitis which can require hospitalisation. Sometimes these complications can lead to death. Those with underlying medical conditions are considered at high risk for complications of the flu and are especially urged to get vaccinated.  Authorities continue to advise there is a need to get vaccinated every year because the viruses circulating in the community continually change and immunity from the vaccine does not last a long time.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) you can minimise your risk of getting the flu by at least 70 percent by vaccinating.  Experts say that those that are prone to flu complications, like the elderly and those with chronic medical conditions such as asthma, diabetes or heart disease, can cut the risk of dying from the flu by 80 percent. 

The theory behind flu vaccination is that if we are injected with a modified or weakened form of flu virus strains our bodies will generate an immune response without contracting the disease.  Once exposed to these strains of virus’ our immune system will be primed to respond quickly and the symptoms of the flu virus will not develop.  While the concept of vaccination may be necessary the way we are administering vaccination may not be how nature intended.

Our body has a unique way of protecting us from the environment around us that contains all of those nasty microorganisms including viruses and bacteria that produce disease.  Mucous membranes that line our digestive system and airways trap and screen anything inhaled or swallowed and expel or digest it, especially if harmful.  This is known as our first line of immune defence.  Vaccinations that are injected into the soft tissue of the body bypass the skin and mucous membranes, this first line of immune defence.  Furthermore they introduce viruses (and bacteria when considering other vaccinations) that are chemically and/or genetically modified and contaminated with preservatives, foreign tissues, proteins and other viruses. 

Our body’s initial exposure to bacteria, viruses or foreign microorganisms and the defence that prevents these from entering the blood stream is called the ‘cell mediated response’.  Injecting vaccinations allows these harmful microorganisms to have access to the blood stream without warning through the natural cell mediated response.  This method of exposure to disease does not occur in our natural environment.  This exposure results in only the humeral arm of the immune system being stimulated by the flood of antigens and additives that react to an antibody response.  A normal exposure to disease producing viruses or bacteria is necessary to initiate a full immune response.  

Consider that the term ‘vaccination’ is used instead of ‘immunisation’.  The term immunisation implies that you have gained immunity by the procedure and this is may not be the case.  This years flu vaccination ‘AGRIPPAL® 2014’ will protect against three strains of the influenza virus only.  Do not assume you will be immune to every strain of the influenza virus after vaccination.   The antigen composition and strains for the 2014 influenza season corresponds to the following types:
  -  A/California/7/2009 (H1N1)pdm09 – like strain (A/California/7/2009, NYMC X-181);
  -  A/Texas/50/2012 (H3N2) – like strain (A/Texas/50/2012, NYMC X-223); and
  -  B/Massachusetts/2/2012– like strain. 

The information pamphlet from the AGRIPPAL® 2014 vaccination will tell you that each 0.5 mL vaccine dose contains 15μg haemagglutinin of each of the recommended strains.  The vaccine preparation also contains Sodium chloride 4.0 mg, Potassium chloride 0.1 mg, Potassium dihydrogen phosphate 0.1 mg, Sodium phosphate-dibasic 0.66 mg, Magnesium chloride 0.05 mg, Calcium chloride 0.06 mg and Water for Injections to 0.5 mL.

The vaccine may contain residues of the following substances: eggs, chicken proteins, kanamycin sulfate, neomycin sulfate, sodium citrate, barium sulfate, formaldehyde, sucrose, cetrimonium bromide (CTAB), polysorbate 80 and less than 0.2 μg of ovalbumin per 0.5 mL dose. Agrippal should not be administered to subjects with a known hypersensitivity to the active substance, to any of the excipients and to eggs, chicken proteins, kanamycin, neomycin, formaldehyde, barium sulfate, cetrimonium bromide (CTAB) or Polysorbate 80, or to anyone who has had an anaphylactoid reaction to a previous influenza vaccination.

If your slightly baffled about what those actual ingredients are then you should do your research.  Some of these ingredients are used in the manufacturing process and are present in trace amounts in the vaccine.  Kanamycin and neomycin are antibiotics that are added to vaccines to inhibit bacterial growth.  Interestingly vaccine manufacturers Merck, Sharpe and Dohme state that neomycin should only be given orally or topically, and in small amounts because of its toxicity when absorbed through the skin.  Formaldehyde is used to inactivate or turn off the bacterial or viral material in vaccines.  As an antibacterial substance it is used for embalming and cleaning and is a known carcinogen (linked with cancer)!  The effects of exposure to formaldehyde via a vaccine injection have not been studied but the information from the AGRIPPAL® 2014 vaccination does state that it has not been tested for carcinogenic or genotoxic potential.

Much of the research and information on ingredients in vaccines and their side effects and hazards are only available for ingestion or skin or lung exposure.  It is known that two chemicals together may be 10 times as toxic as they are separately and 3 chemicals together may be 100 times more toxic.  These chemicals are detoxified by the liver through phase I and phase II detoxification systems.  We continually see patients with stress on this vital organ after exposure to vaccinations.  You should consider harmful components contained in vaccines and potential side effects before vaccination. 

If you do choose the flu vaccination this season remember this does not mean you will not get the flu.  Building your immune system naturally and being kind to your body will always offer you a better chance of health and happiness.  For more information on vaccinations we recommend you contact the following organisation in South Australia:
Vaccination Information SA (VISA)
PO Box 643 Magill SA 5072
Phone:  (08) 8336 5236
Email:  visa@adelaide.on.net
www.visainfo.org.au
Please talk to our friendly staff at reception if you wish to enquire about boosting your immune system this year to prepare for the flu season ahead.