As winter continues and we are all encouraged to get the flu
vaccine, it’s important to be aware of the facts—and of the vaccine’s proven
ineffectiveness in the past.
Each year in the spring, “federal health officials select
two influenza A virus strains (usually H1N1 and H3N2 subtypes) and one or two
influenza B virus strains to include in flu vaccines released in the fall.”[1]
The only problem is that the subtype that ends up causing sickness in the
general population isn’t always included. And that’s the issue we’re facing
now; the dominant influenza A strain causing sickness this flu season is not in
the flu vaccine.
Dr. Tom Frieden, the director of the CDC, claimed in a press
briefing last month that “about half of the H3N2 viruses that we’ve analyzed
this season are different from the H3N2 virus that’s included in this year’s
flu vaccine. They are different enough that we’re concerned that protection
from vaccinations against these drifted H3N2 viruses may be lower than we
usually see.”[2] This isn’t
the first time the strains have “drifted,” making the flu vaccine less effective.
As stated earlier, there is a history of ineffectiveness—but who and what was
to blame for these past mistakes may surprise you.
In the 2003-2004 flu season, for instance, federal health
officials knew that the H3N2 strain
they’d chosen to include in the vaccine was not a match for the mutated strain
that was already making people sick. Experts even told the FDA vaccine advisory
committee that the flu shot would fail if the vaccine went forward as planned.[3]
Unfortunately, manufacturers of the vaccine said they would miss their fall
2003 delivery and marketing deadlines if they took the time to include the
mutated strain. By the end of the 2003-2004 flu season, vaccine effectiveness
was described as 3%-14%.
A few years later, in the 2012-2013 flu season, a slightly
different problem occurred. Rather than a natural drift like what is happening
currently, “flu vaccine failure…was about mutations in the egg adapted H3N2
vaccine strain used by drug companies to produce
the vaccine.”[4] Essentially,
it all went wrong because of a manufacturing problem.
Apart from the ineffectiveness of the vaccine, some experts
have now warned that flu shots do not even make symptoms less severe if they
fail to prevent infection.[5]
With the constant marketing and encouragement from others to get vaccinated, it
can be easy to ignore the facts and make yourself believe that you are doing
more good than harm for your health. But before you act quickly and get the flu
shot, ask yourself if you really want to take these risks every time you
vaccinate yourself or your family.
If you’re interested in reading further about possible side
effects of vaccines, check out the CDC’s listing here: http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vac-gen/side-effects.htm
Working to Restore
God’s Perfect Design in You!
[1] Fisher BL. “ANOTHER Epic
Fail for Influenza Vaccine.” National Vaccine Information Center. January 7,
2015. Retrieved from
http://www.nvic.org/NVIC-Vaccine-News/January-2015/ANOTHER-Epic-Fail-for-Influenza-Vaccine.aspx
[2] Transcript for CDC
Telebriefing: Update on Flu Season 2014-15. Thursday, December 4, 2014.
Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2014/t1204-flu-season.html
[3] Fisher BL. “Flu Vaccine:
Missing the Mark.” NVIC: The Vaccine Reaction Newsletter. Spring 2004.
[4] Skowronski DM, Janjou NZ,
DeSerres C et al. Influenza Vaccine Effectiveness Associated with Mutations in
the Egg Adapted H3N2 Vaccine Strain Not Antigenic Drift in Circulating Viruses.
PLOS One Mar. 25, 2014.
[5] Roos R.
“CDC’s flu warning raises questions about vaccine match.” CIDRAP. December 5,
2014.
No comments:
Post a Comment