CDC, Media Hype The Flu - Facts Show Different Picture
Vaccine maker Chiron had their license suspended and a year's worth of flu vaccines produced in a British factory was not approved for sale in the US - contamination problems. The media treated us to stories of seniors standing in line for hours to "get the flu shot". What they did not say was that the flu is nowhere near as dangerous as they told us previously. Who has not heard of the "36,000 flu related deaths" every year that were brought to our attention every time it was time to "get the shot"?
Well, it appears that these deaths were so much scare mongering, arguably planted in the media to make people bare their arms for the poison needle. Thimerosal, a mercury containing preservative, which is part of most vaccines, is poisonous by any standard. Unfortunately the Centers for Disease Control and the Food and Drug Administration are denying that this neurotoxic heavy metal has anything to do with the autism epidemic that is sweeping the countries where vaccines are most heavily promoted.
So maybe it was a good thing that half of the US flu vaccine went missing this year? Quite possibly so, says Jon Rappoport who followed developments and published what he found on his excellent site nomorefakenews.com.
Now that US elections are over, we can expect more hype from the media. But certainly the facts do not add up to that great urgency to go down and "get your shot immediately". Tommy Cichanowski of The Tortoise Shell Life Science Puzzle Box has forwarded a message with some of the facts we should know - the information was compiled by Frank Hartman:
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Flu: Size of Problem Grossly Exaggerated
The Center for Disease Control (CDC) says, "Every year in the United States, on average, 36,000 people die from the flu."
(http://www.cdc.gov/flu/keyfacts.htm)Below are the actual number of flu associated deaths from1999 to 2002 from the CDC National Vital Statistic Reports
(http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr52/nvsr52_13.pdf):753 deaths in 2002 (page 16 of report)
257 deaths in 2001 (page 16 of report)
1,765 deaths in 2000
1,665 deaths in 1999How does the CDC get from 753 flu deaths to its statement that 36,000 flu deaths occur annually?
By combining flu deaths with pneumonia deaths. The CDC National Vital Statistic Report for 2002 (p.4) lists Influenza and Pneumonia as the 7th leading cause of death in 2002. You probably already guessed it - 753 of those deaths were flu associated and 65,321 were pneumonia associated. If all flu associated deaths are removed, pneumonia associated deaths still ranks number 7 by itself. The media used the false 36,000 deaths number in its coverage - 50 times the actual 2002/2003 number.
Are the 257 to 1,765 reported annual flu deaths from 1999 to 2002 even accurate?
No. It is not possible to determine the actual number of deaths caused by the flu because the CDC has no death certificate category for deaths caused only by the flu. The CDC has three basic categories of flu deaths:
1. influenza plus pneumonia
2. influenza plus other respiratory manifestations/symptoms
3. influenza plus other manifestations/symptoms (non-respiratory)
Adverse Events from Vaccination w/ 2003-2004 Influenza VaccineAccurate statistics for adverse events caused by the Influenza Vaccine are even more difficult to find than accurate data about influenza associated deaths. However, the latest report from the FDA Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research on Inactivated Influenza Vaccines for use in 2003-2004 reports the following types of adverse events:
"Most adverse reactions to inactivated influenza vaccine are related to the body's response to the vaccine components at the site of injection. Most commonly, there is inflammation at the injection site, which may result in redness, swelling or pain. Less frequently, more general reactions occur including fever, malaise (a vague feeling of being ill), and muscle aches - a few serious immediate allergic reactions are reported with inactivated influenza vaccine use every year. Serious immediate reactions can occur within a few minutes to a few hours in people who likely have allergies to components of the vaccines, which may contain very small amounts of residual egg protein. Immediate allergic reactions can appear in a mild form as itching and hives; however, in the severest form, allergic reactions can result in difficulty breathing, loss of blood pressure, and, while prompt medical treatment is usually effective, even death."
What about serious non-allergic adverse reactions, such as to the toxicity of the vaccine's mercury-based preservative Thimerosal?
Prevalent Justification for Combining Flu Deaths with Pneumonia DeathsYou may hear health professionals attempt to justify the legitimacy of combining flu deaths with pneumonia deaths with the statement that "influenza leads to pneumonia." The facts do not support this frequent, broad misstatement by health professionals.
The American Lung Association (ALA) describes pneumonia as having over 30 different causes (one being the influenza virus). Neither the CDC nor ALA know the specific causes of the pneumonias that resulted in death. However, we do know that influenza is not the major cause.
Keep in mind that the influenza vaccine provides no protection from bacterial infections. The National Institute of Allergy & Infectious Disease as well as other health agencies estimate that the single bacteria - streptococcus pneumoniae - is responsible for 15% to 50% of all cases of pneumonia in the US, including up to 40,000 deaths annually (http://www.niaid.nih.gov/factsheets/pneumonia.htm)
Pneumonia is also caused by other bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus (staph), Pertussis (whooping cough), Streptococci, and Mycoplasma pneumoniae (a common cause of walking pneumonia). There are also many non-infectious causes of pneumonia such as asthma, aspiration of fluids, immunodeficiency, etc.
So, it stretches credibility to assert that the flu causes pneumonia when, in fact, the data shows that it only causes a small minority of cases.
Kindest regards
Frank Hartman
See also:
Annual Number of flu deaths: it’s a guess - By Sherri Tenpenny, DO www.nmaseminars.com
“Even though less than 175 people actually died from influenza in 2003, anticipate that exponentially more messages regarding the “deadly flu” will be pushed through the news media this year.”Study: Benefits Of Flu Shots For Elderly Exaggerated
February 14, 2005
CHICAGO -- A new study is challenging the popular belief that giving flu shots to the elderly can save lives. Annual flu shots have been recommended for people 65 and older since the 1960s, and more and more people in this age group are getting vaccinated. But the new study published in Monday's issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine found no corresponding decrease in death rates.No Evidence Flu Vaccine Works in Toddlers
Found on the Alternative Medicine Forum, posted there by Donna:
Bayer made Rhogam that contained 35 mcg of mercury, Bayer in 2003 Petitioned OEHHA to take thimerosal/mercury off the list of reproductive toxins, After parents with disabled children filed lawsuits. [The EPA limit for INGESTING mercury is 6 mcg! Pregnant women continue to be INJECTED with 25 mcg of mercury via the flu vaccine!] What happens to these disabled children, Some require many diffrent medications just to survive.
Here is OEHHA reply to Bayer.
OEHHA (Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assesment) reports;
"The scientific evidence that PMA and Thimerosal cause reproductive toxcitity is CLEAR and VOLUMINOUS.
The evidence for its reproductive toxcitity includes severe mental retardation or malformations in human offspring who were poisoned when thier mothers were exposed to ethylmercury or thimerosal while pregnant."
http://www.oehha.ca.gov/prop65/CRNR_notices/pdf_zip/hgbayer1.pdf
The Vaccine Shortage No Crisis At All
Winter flu jabs evidence queried
There is not enough evidence to support the policy of immunising people against seasonal flu, an expert has claimed
Mr Jefferson, who works for the Cochrane Library - a body that determines the relative effectiveness of health interventions ... said the most reliable way to judge their effects was to use systematic reviews - impartial summaries of evidence from many different studies. But when he did this, he found flu vaccines had little or no effect on many influenza campaign objectives such as hospital stay, time off work, or death from influenza and its complications.
posted by Sepp Hasslberger on Saturday November 6 2004
updated on Sunday November 21 2010URL of this article:
http://www.newmediaexplorer.org/sepp/2004/11/06/cdc_media_hype_the_flu_facts_show_different_picture.htm
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