Diving into this doubtful controversy is likely a waste of time. It really is a battle of statistical interpretation and both sides are generally weak in their positions. In the end we ended up with an annual protocol with an occasional publicity scare to drive in the customers.
Let me make a nasty conjecture. Flu is endemic but no threat to healthy
individuals who have robust immune systems and uncompromised lungs. The 1918 epidemic was worsened significantly
by the huge adoption of cigarette smoking among soldiers in particular and among
the general population at the time. Its virulence
has declined as smoking itself has been modified to reduce particulates with
filters.
Because our population is so well connected, all such
viruses pass through often enough to maintain a strong responsive immune system
allowing us to generally avoid the worst.
Thus there is far less risk that generally touted. In the meantime the present regime is at best
a money making gag.
The most telling evidence is the repose of isolated
communities who are often hit hard by contact with harmless bugs. Their immunity had most likely actually
declined in general from lack of stimulation.
We do not have that problem.
In 'universal' flu shot push, medical industry admits current flu shots
are useless
Tuesday, November 08, 2011 by: Ethan A. Huff, staff writer
(NaturalNews) The medical community is in the process of unveiling a
"universal" influenza vaccine that it claims will prevent all flu
strains with a single jab. The only problem is that, in the process, the system
has inadvertently admitted that current flu shots are medically useless because
they fail to target the correct flu strain in many cases, and they do not
stimulate a natural flu-fighting immune response even when the strain is a
match.
A recent report by CBS 11 News in Dallas / Fort Worth explains that researchers from the University of Texas (UT) Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas have identified a compound they say spurs the growth of a key protein known as REDD-1, which prevents cells from becoming infected. By injecting this compound into patients, REDD-1 will increase, say the researchers, and thus effectively prevent any strain of flu from taking hold.
But what about current flu vaccines? Dr. Beatrice Fontoura, one of the head researchers involved with the new universal flu shot, explained to CBS 11 that it works differently than current flu shots because it "stimulates our own (immune) response which is already there and boost[s] it to fight an infection."
In other words, flu shots being sold today at pharmacies across the country do not actually promote natural immunity at all, which begs an important question. If current flu shots do not boost the immune response, then what, exactly, are they good for?
Not much, according to a recent study published in The Lancet. Though the mainstream media widely reported that the study's findings showed an effectiveness rate of 60 percent for flu shots, actual data in the study reveal that flu shots help about 1.5 out of every 100 adults. This, of course, translates into a measly 1.5 percent effectiveness rate (http://www.naturalnews.com/033998_i...).
And yet, for years, medical professionals everywhere have been hounding the public to get their flu shots or else face horrific sickness and even death. And those who continue to avoid the flu shot based on concerns about its safety and effectiveness have been routinely dubbed "anti-science," or worse.
Ironically, the CBS 11 piece about the universal flu shot also contains an interview with a woman who admits that she stopped getting the flu shot because it made her sick every single year. Once she stopped getting flu shots, she stopped getting the flu. So why, again, do we even need a universal flu shot?
Learn more:
November 4, 2011 10:00 PM
Every year, scientists try to guess which strain of the flu will cause
the most people to get sick. They use that particular flu bug to make a flu
vaccine. But what if you could get one shot that would tackle every single type
of flu?
Dena Rushing from Little Elm has not had the flu in years. “Overall,
we’re a very healthy family, and very active,” she said. But it is not because
she gets the flu shot. She used to get it, but said that she would always get
sick. “I can’t remember a year I didn’t, and then I stopped taking it and I
stopped getting the flu.”
Rushing believes that the inactive virus – which makes up the shot – is
what is responsible for making her sick. Most doctors say that is not the case.
But for her, experience speaks volumes. “We haven’t got it and we haven’t got
the flu,” Rushing said.
Now, researchers in North Texas say
that this fear could soon become a thing of the past.
“We are in the front line of discovery,” said Dr. Beatrice Fontoura.
She and her team at UT Southwestern have discovered a compound that works to
fight multiple strains of the flu, including the deadly Spanish Flu that killed
millions of people around the world in 1918.
“What we are doing is something different,” said Fontoura, explaining
her research. “We are actually stimulating our own response which is already
there – boost it – to fight an infection.”
The compound targets a specific protein called REDD-1, which is
responsible for helping cells fight infection. The scientists discovered that
when there is less REDD-1 protein in a cell, viruses like the flu can invade
and corrupt the cell in a matter of hours. But when this compound is added,
boosting the presence of the REDD-1 protein, the flu (no matter what strain) is
held at bay. “We tested different strains — from less pathogenic strains to
highly pathogenic strains,” Fontoura said, “and it worked.”
\
The current vaccine can often be ineffective, Fontoura said, if the flu
virus mutates. This is why so many people who get a flu shot still get sick.
However, this new compound would bypass that mutation, using your body –
instead of the virus – to fight back.
“It’s very exciting. We’re all excited about it,” Fontoura said. “More
is yet to come.”
The general public is still several years away from seeing this
compound available at the local drug stores, Fontoura said, but she believes
that this is the most promising step yet toward creating the ultimate weapon
against the flu.
1 comment:
good source
Post a Comment