By: Robert Barrington, Advertising Editor
Anyone who has ever come down with the flu has experienced the miserable feeling of muscle aches, fever, headaches, a runny nose, sore throat, and vomiting, and/or diarrhea. Medical professionals recommend that everyone from six months of age and older have a yearly flu shot. As a student, coming down with the flu can be disastrous because the lack of energy and miserable feelings one experiences will interfere with their schoolwork. When one has the flu also becomes very contagious and spread the flu to many others in their presence.
There is no doubt that coming down with the flu can make someone feel bad, and the flu can have serious complications ranging from sinus infections to life-threatening pneumonia, but will the yearly flu shot work? The flu shot contains small amounts of dead flu viruses that are injected into the body. The theory behind the flu shot is that your own body will create an army of antibodies that will kill live flu viruses. Each year medical professionals try to predict which strains of flu will be attacking us, such as swine flu, bird flu, and many other strains. They match the yearly flu shot with specific flu they predict will attack us, and by taking the yearly flu shot, our bodies should be able to fight off the flu.
Flu vaccine has been in the United States since 1945, but besides dead flu viruses, what else is in the vaccines? Flu vaccine may contain thimerasol, antifreeze, formaldehyde, carbolic acid, neomycin and/or streptomycin. Thimerasol is a preservative that is 50 times more poisonous than mercury, and has been suspected of causing autism in children, and other disorders such as MS, ADD, and speech and language problems. Neomycin and streptomycin are antibiotics, while antifreeze, formaldehyde, and carbolic acid are poisons.
There was a huge swine flu vaccination campaign that took place in 1976. The swine flu killed only one person, but the vaccine killed 25 people and crippled hundreds more. People sued the government for $1.3 billion dollars. Now, vaccine companies and federal officials cannot be sued if vaccines cause harm to you or your children. According to experts, flu vaccines are safe and effective, and when flu vaccines are accurately matched to predicted flu viruses, there are fewer deaths caused by the flu that year.
Some may find it comforting to know that the government cares about the people’s health, but are all the companies promoting the flu vaccine just being altruistic, or is there a little something in it for them? Hospitals, doctor’s offices, schools and universities offer flu shots, but so do many stores with pharmacies. Some insurance companies reimburse doctors up to $70 per shot, and the vaccine is sold to other companies for a fraction of what they charge customers.
Millions of people get their yearly flu shot and they don’t experience any side effects, and according to the medical experts, flu shots help prevent the flu and save many lives every year. As a student, one does not want anything interfering with their school work and weekend plans, so the flu shot may be an option.
