SharylAttkisson
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Posted on 11/12/2015 6:29:09 PM PST by upchuck
An important and definitive “mainstream” government study done nearly a decade ago got little attention because the science came down on the wrong side. It found that after decades and billions of dollars spent promoting flu shots for the elderly, the mass vaccination program did not result in saving lives. In fact, the death rate among the elderly increased substantially.
The authors of the study admitted a bias going into the study. Here was the history as described to me: Public health experts long assumed flu shots were effective in the elderly. But, paradoxically, all the studies done failed to demonstrate a benefit. Instead of considering that they, the experts, could be wrong–instead of believing the scientific data–the public health experts assumed the studies were wrong. After all, flu shots have to work, right? So the NIH launched an effort to do "the" definitive study that would actually prove, for the first time, once and for all, that flu shots were beneficial to the elderly. The government would gather some of the brightest scientific minds for the research, and adjust for all kinds of factors that could be masking that presumed benefit.
But when they finished, no matter how they crunched the numbers, the data kept telling the same story: flu shots were of no benefit to the elderly. Quite the opposite. The death rate had increased markedly since widespread flu vaccination among older Americans. The scientists finally had to acknowledge that decades of public health thought had been mistaken.
Read the government study that found no flu shot benefit in elderly
In 2006, lead author Lone Simonsen spoke with me on the phone and agreed to do an on camera interview with me on her study results, which she felt were very important. However, her bosses at the National Institutes of Health blocked the interview. I ended up finding one of her co-authors who was independent from the government and was able to interview him. These study authors who were honest, at their own career peril, should be commended.
After the Simonsen study, many international studies also arrived at the same conclusion. You probably haven’t heard much about these “incendiary” findings. Too much money being made promoting flu shots?
Read Simonsen’s commentary on her study
Read current CDC flu information
bfl
SharylWant on or off this ping list? Just drop me a FReep mail.
Amazon link to Sharyl's latest book.
Good news! Sharyl is now hosting a 30 minute Sunday morning talk show on the Sinclair network. Info.
Too late. This old bag got her flu shot and pneumonia shot last month. They work for me.
Can you say "Globull Warming?"
This woman is beautiful in so many ways.
LMAO...
I’ve had about two flu shots in my life, and our infection control nurse was a friend so I humored her.
I hardly ever get sick. My wife would come home sick with the flu, and I’d nurse her, and never get sick.
What about the incidence rate just getting a case of the flu vaccinated vs. not?
I’m in on that meme. WAY too good looking for TV....
Sharyl is so brave and beautiful.
We gave up the flu shots about 7 years ago. Have not had the flu. Last year the experts estimated the flu shot was only 48% effective. Most of the time the strain they develop the vaccine for is not the strain that mutates.
If they would come up with a vaccine for that nasty upper respiratory virus that goes around every year I would gladly take it. That’s what I’m prone to catching.
Yes she is. !!!!!
Pretty weaselly CDC statement:
“If vaccine works less well in older people should they still get vaccinated?
Despite the fact that flu vaccines can work less well in people who are 65 and older, there are many reasons why people in that age group should be vaccinated each year.
First, people 65 and older are at high risk of getting seriously ill, being hospitalized and dying from the flu.
Second, while the effectiveness of the flu vaccine can be lower among older people, there are seasons when significant benefit can be observed in terms of averting illness that results in a doctor’s visit. Even if the vaccine provides less protection in older adults than it might in younger people, some protection is better than no protection at all, especially in this high risk group.
Third, current CDC studies look at how well the vaccine works in preventing flu illness that results in a doctor’s visit or admission to a hospital. This is just one outcome. There are other studies that look at the effects of flu vaccination on hospitalization rates as well as looking at death as on outcome. For example, one study concluded that one death was prevented for every 4,000 people vaccinated against the flu (Fireman et al, 2009).
In frail elderly adults, hospitalizations can mark the beginning of a significant decline in overall health and mobility, potentially resulting in loss of the ability to live independently or to complete basic activities of daily living. While the protection elderly adults obtain from flu vaccination can vary significantly, a yearly flu vaccination is still the best protection currently available against the flu.
There are limited data to suggest that flu vaccination may reduce flu illness severity; so while someone who is vaccinated may still get infected, their illness may be milder.
Fourth, it’s important to remember that people who are 65 and older are a diverse group and often are different from one another in terms of their overall health, level of activity and mobility, and behavior when it comes to seeking medical care. This group includes people who are healthy and active and have responsive immune systems, as well as those who have underlying medical conditions that may weaken their immune system, and therefore, their bodies’ ability to respond to vaccination. Therefore, when evaluating the benefits of flu vaccination, it’s important to look at a broader picture than what one study’s findings can present. Although flu vaccine is not perfect, the overall evidence supports the public health benefit of flu vaccination. Vaccination is particularly important for people 65 and older who are especially vulnerable to serious illness and death, despite the fact that the vaccine may not work as well in this age group.”
I do not get flu shots now. I'll take my chances. I do take precautions against infectious and noxious situations. I daily apply OFF repellent here to combat Dengue Fever, and I take a baby aspirin every day. I also enjoy two fingers of Johnny Walker and a good cigar.
Life is good and it really is "more fun in the Philippines!"!
I got them both last month for the first time.
But only because I was already in the hospital and don’t particularly need a bout with either right now.
Which is entirely unrelated to the dangers created by massive amounts of vaccines pumped into little children. Because weak immune systems have nothing to do with any kind of overload problems.
I get flu shot every year at VA Clinic and have not had the flu. Am 74. I watch others I know who do not get flu shot go down with the flu, year after year, and are sick for at least three weeks. Believe flu shot works for me.
I wonder if pneumococcal virus vaccine would help you.
I may be way off base, so look and if I am forged aboud it.
= :^)
We both just had that upper respiratory virus and were sick as dogs. My cousin and his wife just got over it. We are just now feeling normal five weeks later and we are very healthy people. I am seriously considering getting a pneumonia vaccine next month when I go for my annual physical.
“I do not get flu shots now. I’ll take my chances. I do take precautions against infectious and noxious situations.”
Those precautions should include not going to the local mall that’s NOT celebrating Christmas! Come to think of it, that’s a twofer! No flu exposure, and you don’t have to worry about being assaulted or even killed!
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