Get the facts about the flu shot

by Adrian Barnes on 11 Oct 2012
in
Get the facts about the flu shot

Flu season is approaching and public health nurses across Interior Health are gearing up for the launch of this year’s influenza (flu) vaccination campaign.

Public flu clinics will begin in some communities the week of October 15th.

“There are many myths and misconceptions about the flu shot so it’s important for people to get accurate information to help them stay healthy,” said Dr. Rob Parker, Medical Health Officer with Interior Health. “For example, the flu shot cannot give you the flu. The vaccine used in B.C. contains dead influenza viruses that cannot cause infection.”

Influenza is a highly contagious infection and can be very serious, especially for those with heart, lung and other health problems.In years when influenza is widespread in B.C., hundreds of people may die from influenza or its complications, such as pneumonia.

“The two most important ways to protect yourself from getting the flu are to wash your hands frequently and get your flu shot,” said Dr. Parker. “Flu vaccinations are a proven, safe and effective way to reduce your chances of getting the flu. The flu shot also lessens the severity of symptoms for those who do get the flu.”  

In B.C. the flu vaccine is free for:

·         People 65 years and older and their caregivers/household contacts

·         All children age 6 to 59 months of age

·         Household contacts and caregivers of infants age 0 to 59 months of age

·         Children and adults with chronic health conditions and their household contacts

·         Aboriginal people

·         Children & adolescents (6 months to 18 years) with conditions treated for long periods of time with Aspirin® or ASA and their household contacts

·         Residents of nursing homes and other chronic care facilities

·         Pregnant women who will be in their third trimester during influenza season and their household contacts (pregnant women who are in other high risk groups can be immunized at any time during the pregnancy)

·         People who are very obese (BMI > 40)

·         Health-care and other care providers in facilities and community settings who are capable of transmitting influenza disease to those at high risk of influenza complications

·         People who provide essential community services (First Responders, Corrections Workers)

·         Inmates of provincial correctional institutions

·         People who work with live poultry and/or swine

·         Individuals who provide care or service in potential outbreak settings housing high risk persons (e.g., crew on ships)

“Everyone can benefit from a flu shot. Even if you don’t become severely ill, getting the flu can mean several missed days of school or work and you may pass it on to someone who is at greater risk,” said Dr. Parker. “The flu shot is anywhere from 60 to 90 per cent effective in preventing influenza and if you don’t get it you can’t spread it.” 

People not eligible for the free flu vaccine through the publicly-funded program should contact their physician, local pharmacy, walk-in clinic, travel clinic or private provider.

To find a flu clinic near you, watch for local announcements on dates and times in your community, visit our website at www.interiorhealth.ca (under Your Health > Immunization > 2012 Seasonal Flu Campaign) for a complete listing or contact your local public health office. Many physician offices and pharmacies also provide vaccines free to those who are eligible.

For more information about influenza, contact your local public health office (look under Interior Health in the blue pages of your phone book) or visit our website at www.interiorhealth.ca. Information is also available on the Immunize BC website at www.immunizebc.ca, or on HealthLink BC at www.healthlinkbc.ca. You can also call HealthLink BC at 8-1-1 to speak to a health-care professional.

Comments

lolol

by wanker on 15 Oct 2012 at about 10:14.

alll i'm gunna say is.. if you want merucry in your body, go right ahead, good day bah

Hope you don't eat canned

by Allyson Kenning on 15 Oct 2012 at about 10:26.

Hope you don't eat canned tuna then, Wanker. 

i hate tuna with a passion

by wanker on 15 Oct 2012 at about 10:54.

i hate tuna with a passion

In favour of immunization

by Kootenay Gal on 14 Oct 2012 at about 14:35.

OK, let me get my bias out there up front!! I am a health care provider and very much pro-immunization.

To add another perspective, please have a little walk around the old Rossland Cemetary, many of the people who are buried there died from the Spanish Influenza of 1918.  The flu isn't something to write off as benign.

What is known now about the Spanish Influenze is that issues such as crowding, sanitation, poor hygiene, lack of a good diet were definitely factors in the spread of the disease, however, most of the people who died (over 24 million of them), were not just the young and very old, but the strong and healthy whose immune systems were at their peak.  We have come a long way in terms of some of the social determinants of health that helped the Spanish Flu spread so quickly, but that does not mean that we are immune to another strain of flu that could potentially be as deadly.

According to the WHO, the 2009 H1N1 flu killed over 17,000 people.  I did get H1N1 and it knocked me down flat.  I have a very healthy respect for viruses and what they can do.

We also are finding out that viruses are the cause of some of the chronic illness and cancers that people develop. 

Yes, wash your hands, eat healthy, get exercise, sleep and do all of those things that help us to stay healthy, but if you look at the science behind the development of viruses and how they replicate and are transmitted, we need to go a little bit further than that. 

Your children are healthy and not exposed to pertussis because I have immunized mine.  The little old lady in the hospital isn't going to die of the flu because I received my flu shot thus protecting her (her immune system might not be as health as mine as she had 3 or 4 other chronic health conditions, lives on a fixed income so her diet might not be as healthy as it could be, and she cannot get excercise because of arthritis). 

Immunize Canda states the following:  "One hundred years ago, infectious diseases were the leading cause of death worldwide. In Canada, they now cause less than 5% of all deaths – thanks to immunization programs across the country.

Immunization protects individuals and communities by preventing the spread of disease. As more people are immunized the disease risk for everyone is reduced. Immunization has probably saved more lives in Canada in the last 50 years than any other health intervention. Immunization is the single most cost-effective health investment, making it a cornerstone in the effort to promote health."

Yes, I am pro-immunization!!

As a child, I had the

by Allyson Kenning on 14 Oct 2012 at about 16:36.

As a child, I had the whooping cough vaccine (pertussis) and STILL got whooping cough, and spent 2 weeks in the hospital in isolation with it.  So there is another example in my life where I've had the vaccine yet still gotten the illness.

That being said, I have a baby in my life now (a newborn niece) and her parents have requested that I get a pertussis vaccine, and I will, because I love my niece time and respect her parents' request.  But my life experience has shown me that just because I've been innoculated, doesn't mean I'm not going to get the illness.

Quacks making a whack of cash

by Andrew Bennett on 14 Oct 2012 at about 16:26.

In 1917, imagine doctors had all the same tools they have now... it's still unlikely the flu shot would have changed the 1918 epidemic. Why? Because they still would have had to correctly guess the strain months in advance...and then the strain would have had to behave and not mutate.

And that's assuming that "immunizing" for the flu even works. There's ample evidence it doesn't. Here's a sample:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20166073

And much the same thing, except in English instead of Medicalese: http://dprogram.net/2010/03/11/flu-shots-futile-study/

Another fun read:

http://smirkingchimp.com/thread/richardgale/29813/the-cdc-votes-in-favor-of-a-flu-vaccination-assault-on-americans-health

There's the following interesting study which reported a "modest" effect of vaccines, but includes a warning at the bottom that many of the studies were funded by the industry. The author's write, "Studies funded from public sources were significantly less likely to report conclusions favorable to the vaccines."

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD001269.pub4/abstract

Some more interesting stuff below, including this fascinating line: "In 1989, only 15 percent of people over age 65 in the U.S. and Canada were vaccinated against flu. Today, more than 65 percent are immunized. Yet death rates among the elderly during flu season have increased rather than decreased."

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2009/11/does-the-vaccine-matter/307723/2/

And this 2007 study that concluded, "We conclude that frailty selection bias and use of non-specific endpoints such as all-cause mortality have led cohort studies to greatly exaggerate vaccine benefits. The remaining evidence base is currently insufficient to indicate the magnitude of the mortality benefit, if any, that elderly people derive from the vaccination programme."

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1473309907702360

I'm not surprised, Kootenay Gal, by your devotion to vaccines. Why? Because you work in the medical industry, and you're under a barrage of some pretty intense, well-funded propaganda by people with big money interests in phony "immunization" programs that may actually cause more harm than good.

Regarding your statement, "100 years ago, infectious diseases were the leading cause of death worldwide," and now they account for less than 5% of Canadian deaths...

Well, for one, let's try the invention of antibiotics: 1942, penicillin hits the market...

For two, let's look at what's replaced infectious diseases: namely cancer and heart disease, both of which have hit epidemic proportions, are directly related to food, environmental toxins (cancer) and lifestyle (heart disease) in addition to predisposing genetic factors...

The flu just isn't polio...and when a bad flu comes along next, it'll side swipe us all the same. For that, I'm banking on a life spent in symbiosis with dirt so that my immune system gets lots of practice before "the big one," in addition to not getting bored and afflicting me with allergies.

(And here's one last interesting read in case that last line really ticked you off! http://arstechnica.com/science/2012/10/book-review-an-epidemic-of-absence-takes-on-the-worms-youre-missing/ )

Lets agree to disagree

by Kootenay Gal on 14 Oct 2012 at about 18:01.

Andrew:

I have a feeling that we could cite articles supporting our respective points of view until the cows come home and neither or us would move off of our position.

What would be great is if there was a balance with both side of the arguement presented so that people could decide for themselves.

Just one more point, stand beside the family whose child is dying of a preventable disease (for lack of a vaccine), or the child lived but now they have devastating long-term disabilities that have robbed the child of their potential.

It might change your perspective, it has mine.

 

You and Andrew may not

by Shelley Ackerman on 14 Oct 2012 at about 18:35.

You and Andrew may not totally disagree, Kootenay Gal. I don't think he is arguing against ALL vaccinations, i.e. polio, smallpox, etc., but mainly the flu vaccines and their ilk.

I think there are very different arguments for and against vaccinations that have been used for many years and are proven effective and mostly safe, and vaccinations that drug companies have to do a fair bit of guesswork on, so they can produce enough for distribution early in the game.

But then I could be totally wrong — many people are against all vaccinations. Andrew?

As many debates as vaccines, but smallpox/polio too...

by Andrew Bennett on 14 Oct 2012 at about 23:31.

Hi Shelley and Kootenay Gal,

You read me correctly, Shelley. The debate for each vaccine is different, and I was specifically addressing the flu vaccine.

Aside from healthy living, the best vaccine for flu, I believe, is to be clean enough but not antiseptic so your immune system is always in contact with new and interesting microlife...keeps it on its toes, as it were. What is a vaccine, after all, but targeted immune system training?

When it comes to vaccines, the media weighs heavily on your point of view, Kootenay Gal. Adrian's article exclusively presented Dr. Parker's establishment view and so fits the mold. I provided an alternative point of view to balance things out.

Now, just to stir things up, let's look at some smallpox and polio facts. I'm not at all convinced that these vaccines were the reason the diseases disappeared.

(I'm not dismissive either, but I think there is a debate that never happened as we all glibly accepted that modern science saved the world from these scourges.)

Here are some great quotes from some great minds: http://www.vaccinesuncensored.org/history.php

Let's look at polio. The rise and fall of the last American polio epidemic polio seems to have closely matched the rise and fall of certain pesticides like DDT. Worldwide, the disease was on the decline before the vaccine was introduced, and seems to have merely continued to decline at a similar rate. And for all the purported saved lives, very little mention is given to the casualities of the vaccine—paralysis, death, ...

And here are some neat snippets from a smallpox article:
http://cure-guide.com/books/the-vaccine-guide/smallpox-vaccine-does-it-work/

"When Japan started compulsory vaccination against smallpox in 1872 the disease steadily increased each year. In 1892 more than 165,000 cases occurred with 30,000 deaths in a completely vaccinated population. During the same time period Australia had no compulsory vaccination laws, and only three deaths occurred from smallpox over a 15-year period."

Later, "The World Health Organization declared in 1979 that smallpox was eliminated from the world through its intense vaccination campaign begun in 1967. However, these campaigners conducted few studies of vaccine efficacy. They merely documented the decrease in smallpox disease. Other diseases have also disappeared from the world. The bubonic plague (or Black Death) killed 25 million people in Europe during the years 1347 to 1352, one third of Europe’s population. Yet the plague has faded into distant memory without the aid of vaccines. Typhoid and yellow fever disappeared from North America as a result of modern sanitation measures prior to vaccine development for these diseases. Smallpox may have disappeared for the same reason."

Sure, we could trade articles all day, but—beyond getting it drummed into our head like a mantra, "vaccines work, just look at polio and smallpox"—I have yet to see any strong evidence that these vaccines do work. All I can see definitively is pharma-corps getting richer by the jab.

Yeah...as an adult I never

by Allyson Kenning on 12 Oct 2012 at about 14:15.

Yeah...as an adult I never had the flu - until last year when I had to get the flu shot because I had housemates who took immuno-suppressants.  I got a nasty flu and was sick for 3 weeks.  Is it a coincidence that I got the flu the first year I got a flu shot?  I don't know, but I do know that I will never get a flu shot again.

There ain't no free bogus lunch

by Andrew Bennett on 12 Oct 2012 at about 10:27.

For one, "facts" above to the contrary, the flu shot is bogus. Bogus: not genuine or true, fake, fraudulent, a sham, deceptive, make-believe, phony, ...

From the Centre for Disease Control: "It's not possible to predict with certainty which flu viruses will predominate during a given season. Flu viruses are constantly changing (called “antigenic drift”) – they can change from one season to the next or they can even change within the course of one flu season. Experts must pick which viruses to include in the vaccine many months in advance in order for vaccine to be produced and delivered on time."

Dr. Parker says, "The two most important ways to protect yourself from getting the flu are to wash your hands frequently and get your flu shot.”

Are you kidding me? Somebody bought this guy some mighty fine dinners.

The single most important way to protect yourself is to take personal responsibility for your health: eat nutrition-rich, enzyme-rish food, sleep well, be happy, and stay fit. And ditch the antimicrobial everything so your body can keep its immune system up to snuff. And sure, bolster your defenses with garlic.

Secondly, it ain't "free"... someone's paying the piper.

Intriguingly, the word "bogus" was originally used for counterfeit money—or for the machine that made it, depending on who you ask.

And that's what the flu shot is, a money machine for phat cat pharmaceuticals. One more commodity in an economy overloaded with conjured-up markets selling things we don't need...

if the photo doesn't encourage you...

by yocal on 12 Oct 2012 at about 09:27.

I feel it is important for people to realise that there are risks both with and without a flu shot. This article mentions no risks nor side-effects.

A family member recently had a dramatic experience when given a flu jab in the Kootenays and, unable to work, is still suffering with the symptoms a year later.
 
Making informed decisions about vaccinations is becoming increasingly more important. A recent study suggests it is not without risks that these vaccines are received.
 
It feel it is also important to understand that a lot of money is made by pharmaceutical companies through vaccine programs. Shareholders' interest is in making profit -- not making sure populations are healthy (quite the opposite in fact).
 
My advice, whether you get the shot or not, is to eat lots of garlic, honey, cinnamon, wash your hands a lot, use a paper towel on the door handle as you exit a washroom, sneeze politely and get enough sleep.