This year’s influenza season started earlier than expected and is sending more patients to the hospital, raising concerns this could be a more severe outbreak than in recent years.
Thirty-six states are now experiencing high levels of flu activity, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, as this year’s flu vaccine may not fully protect against a strain known as influenza A H3N2 that is currently circulating and tends to be more severe.
Fifteen children age 18 and under have died from the flu as of December 20, compared with four such deaths around the same time last year, according to the CDC. A number of hospitals are outpacing previous years, with some restricting visitors to prevent the spread of the virus.
“Our medical director said that in his eight years at the hospital, he had never seen double digits” in the number of patients hospitalized, said Jill Chadwick, a spokeswoman at the University of Kansas Hospital in Kansas City Hospital in Kansas City, Kansas. It had a record 25 flu cases admitted as of Monday and two deaths.
One reason the flu season is particularly bad this year is that this year’s flu shot doesn’t match the major strain that’s causing the majority of cases spreading across America.
A mutated version of the influenza A (H3N2) component that’s contained in this year’s flu shot is the most common strain that’s currently circulating. But since the genetic makeup of the strain has changed since this season’s vaccine was formulated, this year’s vaccine will do even less than usual to offer protection against the flu.
There are many strains of the flu virus and they are constantly mutating. CDC scientists decide early in the year which strains they believe will be the prominent strain in the coming flu season. Those educated guesses are what inform the annual formulations of flu vaccines.
The CDC has warned that the H3N2 strain that’s circulating is linked to flu that’s more severe than usual, and results in more hospitalizations and deaths.
But the agency still urges nearly all Americans over the age of 6-months get the shot, particularly seniors, children, and those with chronic health conditions who are most at risk for flu complications.
Common Symptoms
- Fever and Chills
- Cough, sore throat, runny nose
- Muscle aches, headache, fatigue
- Nausea (more common in children)
Flu Shot A Bad Match For This Season's Virus
A sampling of flu cases so far this season suggests the current flu vaccine may not be a good match for the most common seasonal flu strain currently circulating in the United States, the CDC said Tuesday. The U. S. health agency issued an advisory to doctors noting that flu virus samples the agency took from October 1, through November 22, showed that just under half were a good match for the current influenza A (H3N2) component contained in flu shots for the 2014-2015 season, suggesting the virus has drifted. In past seasons when the influenza A (H3N2) strain had mutated from the vaccine strain, flu shots were less effective, the CDC said in an advisory. Flu seasons dominated by influenza A (H3N2) strains tend to have higher overall hospitalizations rates and more flu-related deaths, especially among older people and very young children compared with flu seasons dominated by influenza A (H1N1) virus or influenza B. virus.Some Flu Shot Formulations Contain Brain-Destroying Toxin
Although flu shots are promoted as safe, that’s not true, says holistic family physician Dr. David Brownstein. Flu shots contain several suspect ingredients including the carcinogen formaldehyde, and many contain mercury in the form of thimerosal. “Mercury is one of the most poisonous substances known to mankind,” Dr. Brownstein tells Newsmax Health. “It is a potent neurotoxin and is associated with a host of neurological and immune system problems. Mercury should never be injected into any living human being.” A study published by the National Institutes of Health stated: “Mercury is a highly toxic element; there is no know safe level of exposure. Ideally neither children nor adults should have any mercury in their bodies because it provides no physiological benefit.” Yet, the FDA allows it to be put in flu shots given to pregnant women, children, and the elderly – all known to be most at risk for neurological damage, says Dr. Brownstein, editor of the newsletter Dr. David Brownstein’s Natural Way to Health. Thimerosal, a preservative found in many flu shots, is 50 percent mercury.Are Flu Shots Harming Seniors?
Seniors are urged to get the flu shot by their doctors and pharmacists as well as by family and friends out of concern that a bout of flu could be fatal. Should seniors get the vaccine? “Absolutely not,” says holistic family physician Dr. David Brownstein. “The vaccine is basically worthless.” One of the main reasons the flu vaccine was developed was an attempt to protect seniors from dying from the illness, says Dr. Brownstein. “Seniors are the most vulnerable part of our population,” he tells Newsmax Health. “But their immune systems just don’t respond to the vaccine.” “Since the government began keeping track, there has been no decrease in the numbers of flu cases in seniors even though about 80 percent of them are vaccinated. The same number of seniors die from the complications of flu as before, so that alone shows it’s not effective.” In addition, the CDC announced last week that the current vaccine is a poor match for a strain that’s making people sick this season, but people are still being urged to get the flu shot. “That’s ridiculous,” says Dr. Brownstein. “When you couple the lack of effectiveness with the mercury, formaldehyde and other toxins in the vaccine, seniors are the last people who should be getting it. Mercury, which is in almost all flu vaccines given to elderly, is a potent neurotoxin and is linked to numerous neurological and immune system problems.” “There’s no doubt that the flu vaccine can lead to Alzheimer’s, because many flu vaccines are preserved with mercury, and it’s a known brain toxin,” says Dr. Brownstein. “You give enough brain toxins and people are going to develop memory issues.” In the case of death or other serious side effects of the flu shot, neither victims nor their families are allowed to file lawsuits for damages. Why? Because the United States government gives the manufacturers of vaccines complete immunity.NOTE: The preceding portion of this article is a compilation of articles from Reuters, Newsmax Health (1, 2, 3), and The Wall Street Journal.
How Rhonda and I are Preparing for the Flu
First, let me say that the very LAST thing Rhonda and I would do is accept a vaccination for the flu. Since I switched my diet from the Standard American Diet to the Hallelujah Diet 39 years ago, I have not received a flu shot even one time and I have not had the flu even one time. Before the diet change I experienced the flu nearly every winter. I consider the flu vaccine far more dangerous than the flu itself. Second, neither Rhonda nor I have any fear of the flu. That might sound crazy or presumptuous, but we have far greater faith in the ability of our body’s immune system to protect us at such a time as this, than we have in any man-made concoction (poison, vaccine) society wants to inject into us. The Bible says: “The LIFE of the flesh is in the blood” (Leviticus 17:11), and injecting poison into the body places the flesh in great danger. So regardless of the real or perceived risk of a flu pandemic, it behooves each of us to keep our immune system functioning optimally by maintaining a plant-based diet such as the Hallelujah Diet. Because when the immune system is functioning as God designed, our marvelous self-healing body is equipped to fend off a host of potential invaders – both bacterial and viral. Dr. Russell Blaylock, in the August 2009 edition of The Blaylock Wellness Report, had the following to say about the flu virus:"The flu virus is supposed to cause a ‘cytokine storm.’ This inflammatory overreaction is what causes the damage, not the virus itself. This is interesting because ALL VACCINES also cause a cytokine storm, one that can last for decades. This is why vaccines are linked to sudden death, joint pains, depression, weakness and fatigue, mental cloudiness, seizures, neurological disorders, and autoimmune diseases. Unbelievably, no one seems to be concerned about vaccine-caused cytokine storm caused by the flu vaccine."
What Can We Do?
“Sadly, the medical elite ignore the fact that there are a great number of natural substances that are known to calm cytokine storms, and they have no serious side effects.” (Dr. Blaylock provides a list of these natural substances. I will share two of the most important ones, the ones Rhonda and I currently take daily.):- Curcumin – A dose of 250 mg to 500 mg taken three times a day powerfully suppresses cytokine storms and has been shown to reduce viral damage.
- Vitamin D3 – Take 5,000 IU a day but if a true epidemic occurs, increase to 15,000 IU a day until you are well or until the danger passes.
- Omega 6 vegetable oils: Corn, canola, peanut, soybean, safflower, and sunflower.
- Fluoride in any form: toothpaste, mouthwashes, dental treatments, etc.
- Iron Supplements: Avoid all iron supplements during an infection or risk of infection.
- Mercury: Mercury containing fish, dental amalgams, mercury containing vaccines.
- Sugars: High sugar intake suppresses immunity and feeds bacteria.
