Flu Shot Safety
Recently the news has bombarded us with severe cases of the flu, instilling fear, and suggesting that the only route to safety is a flu shot. They fail to mention anything about the efficacy and the safety of the shot. It is assumed by the public that if their doctor is recommending it, and it is talked about on the television, it must be safe and effective. But, this is very far from the truth.
When you get a flu shot you not only get some arbitrary organisms, that may not even match the present outbreak, but you also get injected with mercury. Vaccine safety.edu lists the Influenza formula for 2012 / 2013 as containing 24.9 mcg / 0.5 ml of mercury (named as thimerosal). That means you will be having that quantity of mercury injected into your venous system. As a side note there is 25mcg of mercury in each tetanus toxoid vaccine as well, so having any vaccinations at the same time would significantly increase your exposure.
The EPA has deemed the 24.9 mcg quantity of mercury as safe exposure. I would question that there is any safe level of mercury. Mercury is listed as one of the most toxic elements on this planet. Mercury, aluminum (which is now replacing mercury in a number of vaccines), arsenic, cadmium, and lead are considered toxic element. The only elements more toxic are radioactive agents. I have searched and not found any information listed on how the EPA determined a safe level of mercury. I do know the following facts:
• No study has been done to assess the blood level of mercury or aluminum after a vaccination has been given. The only study published was done on a set of dialysis patients, and after the vaccination their blood level of the metal not only superseded the EPA safety guidelines, but was equivalent to someone who has been exposed to an industrial accident.
• No study has been done to look at the accumulative effects of repeated exposure to the mercury or aluminum in vaccinations.
• No study has been done to look at the long term health effects of mercury or aluminum exposure in vaccines.
• No study has been done to identify the amount of mercury we get exposed to on a daily basis via mercury fillings, water, seafood, and the environment , and how that would add to the total daily exposure, potentially leading the vaccination to becoming a toxic dose.
• Not every person has the same capacity to metabolize mercury. Many people accumulate the metal, which leads to long term storage of the metal with potential symptoms of mercury toxicity.
To help you decide if exposure to mercury is worth getting the flu shot, I listed some information below on what the EPA says about mercury. Mercury comes in various forms. I listed the toxic effects of two forms below, methylmercury and elemental mercury. Here is some information from the epa.gov web site that lists the symptoms associated with mercury toxicity:
“For fetuses, infants, and children, the primary health effect of methylmercury is impaired neurological development. Methylmercury exposure in the womb, which can result from a mother's consumption of fish and shellfish (or from exposure to dental amalgams) that contain methylmercury, can adversely affect a baby's growing brain and nervous system. Impacts on cognitive thinking, memory, attention, language, and fine motor and visual spatial skills have been seen in children exposed to methylmercury in the womb.” The italics are my addition and are not part of the quote.
“Elemental (metallic) mercury primarily causes health effects when it is breathed as a vapor where it can be absorbed through the lungs. Symptoms include these: tremors; emotional changes (e.g., mood swings, irritability, nervousness, excessive shyness); insomnia; neuromuscular changes (such as weakness, muscle atrophy, twitching); headaches; disturbances in sensations; changes in nerve responses; performance deficits on tests of cognitive function. At higher exposures there may be kidney effects, respiratory failure and death.”
Elemental mercury is used in dental amalgams and is released as a vapor into your mouth when you drink hot liquids, brush your teeth, chew gum or grind your teeth. If you have a more acidic mouth environment or other metals in your mouth such as nickel backed or gold crowns you will release even more mercury vapor into your mouth. These factors are not taken into account when they determine a safe level of mercury.
The next time your doctor suggests you get a flu vaccine, please politely ask them to show you the studies that were done that demonstrate the effectiveness and the safety of the vaccines. Stay tuned for what you can do to prevent the flu, but for now consider having a natural immune enhancing shot that would replace the flu shot and boost your ability to fight against the flu virus.