Richard Gale and Gary Null
Progressive Radio Network, January 10, 2019
The 2017-2018 flu season was not a good year for the CDC. Flu vaccination coverage rates was its lowest in almost a decade, and the the vaccine itself had a very poor effective rate. The FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb had to make a statement in September to this effect, “last year’s flu vaccine was less protective than it had been in many previous years.” Yet, again the government will spend approximately $2 billion to purchase upwards to 168 mllion flu vaccine doses being manfactured by drug makers for the 2018-2019 flu season.
Sitting on millions of flu shots to be administered and handicapped with a past history of flu vaccines’ feeble viral protection, and more Americans realizing the vaccine is either a sham or something not to be bothered with, the CDC and FDA are desperately pulling all of their stops to motivate people and their families to rush to their local WalMart, Costco or pharmacy to get inoculated.
The federal health agencies anguish in flu vaccine compliance may have reached a historical climax during Sunday night’s ridiculous spectacle at the Golden Globes award ceremony. Approximately 19 million people viewed the television broadcast as two hosts ushered a troop of white robed doctors into the theater to browse among the crowd of celebrities to give flu shots. It was a comedic display of horribly bad science mixed with entertainment that would have made the father of modern advertizing Edward Bernays and the Nazi’s mastermind of disinformation Joseph Goebbels proud. When we consider that many of the most admired people in the US today are celebrities, it should not be a surprise that the CDC, and very likely the private vaccine makers as well, would create such a spectacle. We have to wonder how much of our tax dollars were spent to orchestrate this charade.
The entertainment industry, including our favorite actors and actresses, are not medical experts. Nor is it likely that many of them are more knowledgeable about vaccines and health than average Americans. Nevertheless, there is a certain culpability the Golden Globe organizers and sponsors must own because what they have just touted to the public is a largely ineffective and unsafe product. And it is feasible to reason, that the CDC negotiated the award’s vaccine pageantry with a platform of misinformation, lies and unequivocal deception, such as the seriousness of contracting an influenza infection.
A New York Times piece in October, parroted the CDC’s claim that 80,000 Americans died from infection during the last flu season. How this number was manufactured is rather mind blogging after trying to find the statistics and evidence to derive this estimation. During past flu seasons, the range of flu deaths would be anywhere between 3,900 and 36,000. For many years, the 36,000 figure became the CDC’s standard. In fact, this number rarely deviated from its website for many years. What accounted for a greater than 100 percent leap in mortalities? Is there any credibility that can be given to the 80,000 figure? Among these tens of thousands, only 172 were children; twenty percent of these children were vaccinated. This would have us believe that the vast majority of so-called flu deaths were among adults and senior citizens. But AARP reports that only about 15,500 senior citizens died during last year’s flu season and 80 percent of ALL flu deaths are among those 65 and older. Any high schooler can do the math and discover the CDC’s figure is utterly bogus. Rather it is another government effort at fear-mongering. Moreover, there is another catch. Unlike childhood deaths from infectious diseases, flu deaths in adults are not recognized as “nationally notifiable” conditions. This means physicians and hospitals are NOT required to report flu-related deaths. The CDC’s list of “nationally notifiable” diseases include such conditions as Zika virus infection, food borne outbreaks such as salmonella, and lead poisoning; but influzenza infections among adults is not listed.
The CDC does not distinguish between flu and pneumonia deaths. Although the influenza virus is credited with being the main organism causing pneumonia, other infections including the common cold and other respiratory viruses, of which there are many, can also develop into pneumonia. The CDC acknowledges this fact on its website. There are over 200 different viruses that display respiratory symptoms and are misdiagnosed for the flu, and unless a molecular assay or another test performed in specialized laboratories is performed, there can be no accurate accounting of actual flu infection rates, and rarely are any of these diagnostic tests done. Instead, the standard diagnostic test used, if at all, is the very imprecise Rapid Influenza Diagnostic Test or RIDT.
But pneumonia is not necessarily caused by a virus. According to the American Lung Association, bacterial pneumococcal pneumonia (a form of Streptococcus) affects 900,000 people annually. How many of the CDC’s 80,000 viral deaths, were actually caused by a bacteria? Other bacteria responsible for pneumonia include Staphylococcus aureus, Moraxella catarrhalis, Neisseria meningitidis, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Haemophilus influenzae. Among the elderly in hospitals and nursing homes, the “superbug” Klebsiella pneumoniae is rampant and recognized as one of most infectious pathogens found in clinical settings. Pneumonia infections in hospitals are largely due to Klebsiella, not influenza.
Dr. Martin Meltzer, a CDC expert in health economics, has stated “almost nobody dies of the flu” and “deaths [are] associated with flu, but not necessarily caused by flu.”[13]
To date there is only one gold standard clinical trial with the flu vaccine that compares vaccinated vs. unvaccinated, and it is not good news for the CDC and the vaccine makers. This Hong Kong funded double-blind placebo controlled study following the health conditions of vaccinated and unvaccinated children between the ages of 6-15 years for 272 days. The trial concluded the flu vaccine holds no health benefits. In fact, those vaccinated with the flu virus were observed to have a 550% higher risk of contracting non-flu virus respiratory infections. Among the vaccinated children, there were 116 flu cases compared to 88 among the unvaccinated; there were 487 other non-influenza virus infections, including rhinovirus, coxsackie, echovirus and others, among the vaccinated versus 88 with the unvaccinated. This single study alone poses a scientifically sound warning and rationale for avoiding the vaccine.[14]
At their best, flu vaccines remain around 50-60% effective according to official health statements. However, the World Health Organization’s predictions for 2014-2015 flu strains were a bust. The match was such a failure that the CDC was forced to warn the American public that the vaccine was only 23% effective.[8] The 2017-2018 seasonal vaccine was another bomb. Although the CDC claimed the vaccine was 40 percent effective, an independent study at Rice University in Houston determined only a 19 percent efficacy, and they estimated a 20 percent efficacy for the prior season. Given the frequent ineffectiveness of seasonal flu vaccines, especially for the 65 years-plus age group, predictive methodologies to determine which flu strains emerge during any given influenza season have more in common with medieval divination than sound science.
However, another less discussed finding about dismal flu vaccine efficacy was determined at Kaiser Permanente Northern California last year. Reviewing 45,000 medical records of patients tested positive for influenza, researchers charted a trend that indicates that the “risk of contracting the flu climbs about 16 percent for every 28 days after vaccination. Therefore, if the particular season’s vaccine is a dud to begin with, immune protection could potentially wane within a month in some patients.
In 2016, the live-flu virus FluMist vaccine had to be pulled after it was found to be only 3% effective, according to an NBC report. However the real truth behind its withdrawal is likely more nefarious. [6] The vaccine was contributing to more cases of flu infection than it was preventing. And this is a fundamental flaw with all live vaccines, and even killed attenuated ones, that have been shown to “shed” and infect people in contact with the vaccinated persons, especially those with compromised immune systems. Regardless of the FluMist’s poor record, we find it again back on the CDC flu vaccine list for this season.
Dr. David Brownstein has noted that as far back as 1999, the Journal of the American Medical Association reported increased risks of febrile disorders greater than placebo associated with the live vaccine.[10] According to the FDA’s literature on FluMist, the vaccine was not studied for immunocompromised individuals (yet was still administered to them), and has been associated with acute allergic reactions, asthma, Guillian-Barre, and a high rate of hospitalizations among children under 24 months – largely due to upper respiratory tract infections. Other adverse effects include pericarditis, congenital and genetic disorders, mitochondrial encephalomyopathy or Leigh Syndrome, meningitis, and others.[11] Given this litany of vaccine dangers, it is highly unlikely the vaccine was removed simply for ineffectiveness. Yet when has the CDC ever been truthful with the public?
In a later study by Dr. Danuta Skowronski in Canada, individuals with a history of receiving consecutive seasonal flu shots over several years had an increased risk of becoming infected with H1N1 swine flu. Skowronski commented on his findings that “policy makers have not yet had a chance to fully digest them [the study’s conclusions] or understand the implications.” He continued, “Who knows, frankly? The wise man knows he knows nothing when it comes to influenza, so you always have to be cautious in speculating.”[15]
There is strong evidence suggesting that all vaccine clinical trials carried out by manufacturers fall short of accurately demonstrating vaccine effectiveness. And when they are shown to be efficacious, it is frequently in the short term and offer only partial or temporary protection. According to an article in the peer-reviewed Journal of Infectious Diseases, the only way to evaluate vaccines is to scrutinize the epidemiological data obtained from real-life conditions. In other words, researchers simply cannot — or will not — adequately test a vaccine’s effectiveness and immunogenicity. It is worth noting that there are approximately 200 distinct viruses that are misdiagnosed as influenza and produce flu-like symptoms. These organisms don’t magically appear during fall and winter – they are always with us. Nevertheless we are more susceptible to flu-like infections during the colder months when there are less daylight hours.[16]
The Cochrane Collaboration, the world’s foremost independent group of unbiased researchers, physicians and scientists, has performed a series of meta-analyses on the effectiveness of the influenza vaccine. In 2014 they found that vaccinating adults against influenza did not affect the number of people hospitalized nor decrease lost work.[17]Cochrane researchers stated that their results might be overly optimistic due to the fact that 24 out of 90 studies were funded by the vaccine manufacturers, which tend to produce results favorable to their product.[18]
According to Dr. Tom Jefferson at the Cochrane Collaboration, it makes little sense to keep vaccinating against seasonal influenza based on the evidence.[19] Jefferson has also endorsed more cost-effective and scientifically-proven means of minimizing the transmission of flu, including regular hand washing and wearing masks. There is also substantial peer-reviewed literature supporting the supplementation of Vitamin D.
Dr. Jefferson’s conclusions are backed by a 2013 article by Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine scientist Peter Doshi, PhD, in the British Journal of Medicine. In his article Doshi questions the flu vaccine paradigm stating:
“Closer examination of influenza vaccine policies shows that although proponents employ the rhetoric of science, the studies underlying the policy are often of low quality, and do not substantiate officials’ claims. The vaccine might be less beneficial and less safe than has been claimed, and the threat of influenza appears overstated.”[20]
The CDC currently recommends that elderly Americans receive a flu shot, stating that “[v]accination is especially important for people 65 years and older because they are at high risk for complications from flu.”[21] Unfortunately, this warning is grossly unfounded. A significant body of research proves that receiving the flu shot does not reduce mortality among seniors.[22] One particularly compelling 2005 study was carried out by scientists at the federal National Institutes of Health (NIH) and published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). Not only did the study indicate that the flu vaccine did nothing to prevent deaths from influenza among seniors, but that flu mortality rates increased as a greater percentage of seniors who received the shot.[23]
After the release of the study, investigative journalist Sharyl Attkisson covered the findings in a CBS News segment. Attkisson interviewed the only co-author of the study who was not affiliated with the NIH, Dr. Tom Reichert, who stated that the research team revisited the data several times, but that no matter how they analyzed the “incendiary material”, the conclusion was clear: flu shots don’t improve mortality rates in the elderly population.[24]
Dr. Sherri Tenpenny reviewed the Cochrane Database reviews on the flu vaccine’s efficacy. In a review of 51 studies involving over 294,000 children, there was “no evidence that injecting children 6-24 months of age with a flu shot was any more effective than a placebo. In children over 2 years of age, flu vaccine effectiveness was 33 percent of the time preventing flu. In children with asthma, inactivated flu vaccine did not prevent influenza related hospitalizations in children. The database shows that children who received the flu vaccine were at a higher risk of hospitalization than children who did not receive the vaccine.[25]
In a separate study involving 400 children with asthma receiving a flu vaccine and 400 who were not immunized, there was no difference in the number of clinic and emergency room visits and hospitalizations between the two groups.[26]
In 64 studies involving 66,000 adults, “Vaccination of healthy adults only reduced risk of influenza by 6 percent and reduced the number of missed work days by less than one day. There was change in the number of hospitalizations compared to the non-vaccinated. In further studies of elderly adults residing in nursing homes over the course of several flu seasons, flu vaccinations were insignificant for preventing infection.[27]
During every annual quarter, the CDC’s Advisory Commission on Childhood Vaccines meets, and the Department of Justice releases its report on settlements made for vaccine injuries and deaths. In recent years, the flu vaccine has topped the charts. During its most recent release in June 2016, 85 of the 116 cases, and 2 of the 3 deaths, settled by the “vaccine court” over a three month period were associated with the flu vaccine.[28] While this might appear to be a small and insignificant number compared to the millions of vaccines administered, it bears noting that the CDC itself admits that only 10% of vaccine adverse effects go reported. However, independent analysis from Harvard University indicates it may be as small as 1-2% at best.
For almost a decade, the CDC has known influenza vaccines are ineffective and life-threatening for the elderly but continues to market them without hesitation. Hence in November 2014, five senior citizens at an assisted living facility in Dacula, Georgia, died within a week after all residents were vaccinated.[29] During the previous year’s flu vaccine trials, Sanofi Pasteur’s Fluzone killed 23 elderly participants during the vaccine trial. Nevertheless, the vaccine was approved and continues to be marketed towards senior citizens.[30]
The good news is that Americans are rapidly losing confidence in the CDC. According to National Consumers League poll, over two-thirds of Americans believe vaccines cause autism, which the CDC categorically denies.[31] Almost two months after the media reported on the revelations by a CDC whistleblower, Dr. William Thompson, who exposed the CDC cover up of a vaccine-autism connection with the MMR vaccine, a CBS News poll showed public approval of the CDC nosedived to 37%, down from 60% the previous year. Vaccine apologists and the major media claim this large decrease is due to the CDC’s dismal handling of the Ebola crisis; however, Thompson’s whistleblowing received over 750 million Twitter impressions indicating that the debate over vaccine efficacy and safety is far more on the public’s mind.[32] Positive endorsement of the CDC would plummet further if the public knew the full extent of CDC officials lying to Congress and their conspiracy to commit medical fraud for over a dozen years.
Imagine the tens of thousands of children and families who would have been saved from life-long neurological damage and immeasurable suffering if the CDC was not indebted to protecting the toxic products of the pharmaceutical industry and was serving the health and well-being of American children? And we can begin to further dismantle this citadel of despotic medical fascism by simply refusing the flu vaccine and protecting ourselves by adopting a healthier lifestyle during the flu season.
Richard Gale is the Executive Producer of the Progressive Radio Network and a former Senior Research Analyst in the biotechnology and genomic industries. Dr. Gary Null is the host of the nation’s longest running public radio program on nutrition and natural health and a multi-award-winning documentary film director, including Autism: Made in the USA, War on Health: The FDA’s Cult of Tyranny and Silent Epidemic: The Untold Story of Vaccination.
NOTES
[1] http://yournewswire.com/boy-awarded-174000-after-flu-vaccine-causes-permanent-brain-damage/
[4] http://sharylattkisson.com/woman-paralyzed-after-flu-shot-receives-11-million-for-treatment/
[5] Barbara Lo Fisher, The Emerging Risks of Live Virus and Virus Vectored Vaccines. National Vaccine Information Center, 2014
[7] Barbara Lo Fisher, op cit.
[8] http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/12/3/flu-vaccine-ineffective.html
[9] Richard Gale and Gary Null, “Flu Vaccines: Are They Effective and Safe?” Progressive Radio Network, September 28, 2009
[11] http://www.fda.gov/downloads/BiologicsBloodVaccines/Vaccines/ApprovedProducts/UCM294307.pdf
[12] Barbara Lo Fisher, “CDC Admits Flu Shots Fail Half the Time.” NVIC, October 19, 2016
[13] Manning, Anita. “Study: Annual flu death toll could be overstated.” USA Today. December 11, 2005.
[14] http://gaia-health.com/gaia-blog/2013-06-02/flu-vax-causes-5-5-times-more-respiratory-infections/
[15] http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/flu-shot-linked-to-higher-incidence-of-flu-in-pandemic-year-1.1287363
miachela rectenwald NYU
[16] Weinberg, Geoffrey A., and Peter G. Szilagyi. “Vaccine Epidemiology: Efficacy, Effectiveness, and the Translational Research Roadmap.” The Journal of Infectious Diseases J INFECT DIS 201.11 (2010): 1607-610. Web.
[17] Jefferson T et al. Vaccines for Preventing Influenza in Healthy Adults. Cochrane Database of Systemic Review, 2010. Issue 7. Art No. CD001269
[18] Ibid
[19] ‘A Whole Industry Is Waiting For A Pandemic’, Der Spiegel, http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,637119-2,00.html, accessed December 4, 2011
[20] Doshi, P. “Influenza: Marketing Vaccine by Marketing Disease.” BMJ 346 (2013): F3037. Accessed November 30, 2015. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmj.f3037.
[21] “What You Should Know and Do this Flu Season If You Are 65 Years and Older” http://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/disease/65over.htm
[22] Simonsen, Lone, Reichert, Thomas, et al. . “Impact of Influenza Vaccination on Seasonal Mortality in the US Elderly Population.” Arch Intern Med Archives of Internal Medicine 165, no. 3 (2005): 265. Accessed December 1, 2015. doi:10.1001/archinte.165.3.265.
[23] Glezen, W P., and Lone Simonsen. “Commentary: Benefits of Influenza Vaccine in US Elderly–new Studies Raise Questions.” International Journal of Epidemiology 35, no. 2 (2006): 352-53. Accessed December 1, 2015. doi:10.1093/ije/dyi293.
[24] “Govt. Researchers: Flu Shots Not Effective in Elderly, After All” https://sharylattkisson.com/govt-researchers-flu-shots-not-effective-in-elderly-after-all/
[25] 105th International Conference of the American Thoracic Sociey, May 15-20, 2009 (quoted in , Sherri. “The Truth about Flu Shots”. Idaho Observer, June 1, 2009)
[26] ibid
[27] Tenpenny, Sherri. “The Truth about Flu Shots”. Idaho Observer, June 1, 2009.
[28] http://www.nclnet.org/survey_one_third_of_american_parents_mistakenly_link_vaccines_to_autism
[29] http://healthimpactnews.com/2014/6-seniors-die-after-flu-shot-at-assisted-care-center-in-georgia/
[32] http://naturalsociety.com/american-public-officially-loses-faith-cdc/
