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.
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.
