Should You Get a Flu Shot?Before You Do, Make Sure You Understand the Potential RisksBy Dr. Claudia Anrig Every year just before the weather turns colder, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention begins an advertising campaign geared toward motivating the masses to get the flu vaccine. They talk about the number of deaths each year that are attributable to the flu and the number of missed work days that cost employers hundreds of thousands of dollars. This year, that campaign will likely be even more urgent due to outbreaks of the "swine flu" virus, which have spread from one country to the next in the past six months or so. Should you get yourself and your children vaccinated against the flu? This article is not intended to encourage you to vaccinate or not to vaccinate against the flu, but rather to provide you with some basic information so you can decide for yourself. Of course, you should always talk to your doctor when deciding whether to receive any vaccination or medication. What Is the Flu? Influenza is a contagious respiratory illness caused by influenza viruses. The most common symptoms are fever, headache, fatigue, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, and body aches, as well as diarrhea and vomiting. The flu can cause complications such as pneumonia or dehydration and may aggravate existing conditions like asthma and heart disease. It is spread from person to person in respiratory droplets when people who are infected cough or sneeze. What Is the Flu Shot? The flu shot is an inactivated vaccine (containing killed virus) that is given with a needle, usually in the arm. The flu shot has been approved for use in people older than 6 months of age, including healthy people and people with chronic medical conditions (such as asthma, diabetes, or heart disease). What the CDC doesn't tell you is that the other ingredients in the flu shot include, but are not limited to the following:
What Are the Potential Side Effects? Just like all vaccines and medications, there are potential side effects associated with the flu shot. The CDC and other health care organizations would have you overlook them for the supposed benefit of being inoculated against the flu. However, it's important to at least be familiar with these potential side effects and weigh the potential risk vs. benefit when deciding whether you or your child should receive the shot. Minor side effects can include but are not limited to soreness, redness or swelling at the injection site, low-grade fever and other aches and pains. More severe, life-threatening complications have proven to be rare, but the danger still exists that someone can suffer severe effects from this alleged beneficial vaccine. The most common dangerous side effect is an allergic reaction. Since the vaccine is grown in eggs, it is more dangerous for those who have had an allergic reaction to other vaccines in the past. These reactions can include breathing problems, hoarseness or wheezing, hives, paleness, weakness, and a fast heartbeat or dizziness. The CDC has recognized the danger and recommends that those who have had an allergic reaction to a vaccine in the past not get the flu shot before speaking with their health care professional. An even more serious side effect is Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS). This is a disease in which the body damages its own nerve cells, resulting in muscle weakness and sometimes paralysis. While most people eventually recover, some have permanent nerve damage and 5 percent to 6 percent of those who develop GBS will die. The CDC would remind you that only six of every 1 million people injected with the flu shot will develop GBS. That's small comfort if you're one of the six, of course. Is Getting a Flu Shot Worth It? You Decide After careful consideration of the risks associated with the vaccine, it's wise to weigh those risks against those of the flu. The CDC talks about the benefits of being vaccinated, but are those benefits backed up with the facts? The flu vaccine is always changing because the flu strains change from one year to the next. (The swine flu is once such variation.) The manufacturers of the vaccine take a shot in the dark and hope they'll hit the right strain each year, but the fact is the flu shot is only 70 percent to 90 percent effective. Dean Eurich, a clinical epidemiologist and professor at the school of public health at the University of Alberta, recently considered the data and reported that over the past 20 years in the United States, vaccination rates among the elderly have increased from 15 percent to 65 percent, but hospital admissions and death rates from all causes have not declined proportionately. "Only about 10 percent of winter-time deaths in the United States are attributable to influenza, thus to suggest that the vaccine can reduce 50 percent of deaths from all causes is implausible in our opinion," Eurich said. A further study by Sumit Majumdar, MD, reached the same conclusion. According to his research, after considering all the facts and taking into account immunizations, socioeconomic status, sex, history of smoking and the severity of the flu, the actual benefit of the flu shot is "reduced to a statistically non-significant level of 19%." A recent article published in the Lancet medical journal suggests the flu vaccine is having little or no effect on the number of elderly people developing pneumonia each year, and a recent study led by Michael Jackson, MD, of the Seattle-based Group Health Center for Health Studies, that compared 1,173 pneumonia patients between the ages of 65 and 94 who had been vaccinated with 2,346 people who hadn't, determined that the risk of contracting the lung disease wasn't reduced by the shot. The Safest Way to Avoid the Flu The CDC and the American Academy of Pediatrics (and probably your Mom when you were growing up) advocate simple health habits to prevent the spread of illnesses like the flu. Taking these steps can help people avoid the flu without having to get a flu shot in the first place:
Consider these suggestions, along with the above information regarding risks vs. benefits, before getting a flu shot this year, and of course, talk to your doctor for more information. After all, it's your health and the health of your children at stake. Definitely Don’t Get a Flu Shot If... The American Academy of Pediatrics provides guidelines for circumstances under which you should not be vaccinated with the flu shot or nasal spray. According to the AAP, you/your child should not get vaccinated if any of the following applies (whether restriction applies to flu shot, nasal spray or both is noted in parentheses):
Claudia Anrig, DC, practices in Fresno, Calif., and is on the board of directors of the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association, an organization that can answer your questions regarding the value of chiropractic care during and after pregnancy. |