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Subscribe to RSSThe 2012 flu season got off to a slow start until the number of cases spiked last week, prompting officials at the Centers for Disease control to urge people to get their flu shots now. Currently, the highest level of flu activity has been reported by states in the South. NBC's Robert Bazell reports.
This year’s flu season has kicked in early, with activity up significantly across the nation, particularly in the south and southeast, federal health officials say.
"It looks like it's shaping up to be a bad flu season," said Dr. Thomas Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The percentage of aching, feverish folks who went to the doctor with influenza-like illness had reached the national baseline of 2.2 percent, the earliest that has happened in the regular flu season in nearly a decade, the 2003-2004 season. Flu season may start as early as October, but typically peaks in January or later.
Five states reported high levels of flu activity -- Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee and Texas. Widespread activity was reported in four states, regional activity was seen in seven states and 19 states reported local flu activity, CDC officials said. That was up from eight states that reported local flu activity the previous week.
Michael Patrick / AP file
Linda Howard, 66, of Knoxville, Tenn., gets a flu shot from nursing student Elizabeth Wallace at free flu shot clinic in October.
By contrast, last year's flu season started late, with an uptick in cases not starting until February.
Health officials are urging people to get their flu shots now, including babies older than six months, and all adults and children. Every year, about a quarter of the U.S. population gets the flu and an average of about 36,000 people die.
The strains making people sick are influenza A -- both H3N2 and the 2009 H1N1 or pandemic swine flu strain -- and influenza B. So far, the vaccines manufactured for this season appear to be a good match, health officials said.
But the H3N2 virusmay typically cause more severe symptoms than the other flu bugs, noted Dr. William Schaffner, chairman of the Department of Preventive Medicine at Vanderbilt University. His staff has already started seeing flu patients in Tennessee.
"We're all a bit antsy," he said.
About 120 million doses of flu vaccine are available this year, Frieden said. About 112 million people have received their flu shots so far, officials said.
The key to avoiding the flu is getting the shot, the experts emphasized.
"We are particularly encouraging people who haven't gotten vaccinated to do it," said Dr. Melinda Wharton, acting director of the CDC's Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases.
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The keys to avoiding the flu are to wash your hands often, keep them away from your entire face, cut way down on sugar intake, get/stay hydrated and stay away from public places; take extra care (and vitamin C) when on a plane.
Actually, Zinc would be more use.
42% received the flu shot. Yeah right. We could not get 42% of population to show up for free money!
Cut way down on sugar, and stay away from the public?
Are you kidding me? I think I'll take my chances with the flu.
I hate the flu so much that I even refuse to get the flu shot because I fear that it will make me sick. People in my family that get the shot, get sick every single time. Yucky, Icky, no thanks!
@Blake- same thing here- I can't take the shot or be doomed to a long season of one illness after another!
Actually, this is somewhat off. Since the flu shot itself is the flu virus, the idea is that your immune system is somewhat capable of generating antibodies to fend off these viruses. They GIVE you the flu so that your body can adapt. When you are overly clean by washing your hands too often, not touching your face, or avoiding public places, you are MORE susceptible to these viruses that that you've never been acquainted with. Hydration is good. Cutting down on sugar when sick is also an immune system helper. Vitamin C is a massive arguing point, as it's been shown to have almost zero effect in many tests.
I lived in Guatemala for many months when I was younger. When I first arrived, I got somewhat stomach sick for a week, as I was adapting to living with a family, and not eating in places that were "American clean". After months, I could drink their tap water without getting sick, and eat pretty much anything the typical Guatemalan could eat. I'd have friends come down to visit, and they would get very ill from eating the same things I would eat. My body became accustomed to the environment, and my immune system adapted accordingly.
What doesn't kill you, only makes you stronger.
Been a nurse 8yrs, ah the joys of having becoming immune the hard way. On the flip side I don't ever get sick anymore.
Box up all the flu germs and ship them to congress. That way they have an excuse for doing nothing as they are all sick ( we already know they have mental problems and only say the word NO ).
No. Influenza is caused by people talking to each other. The virus goes from throat to throat via droplets.
I got the flu when I was 24 and I was sicker than any other time in my life. I am now 62 and get a flu shot every year, because if I got that strain of flu again, it would put me in the hospital - at best.
Yup, eat right, think positive thoughts, slather yourself with herbs and take zinc tablets, and you won't get the flu. You also might try voodoo.
Oh, just get the shot and shut up!
Never gotten the shot and I've gotten the Flu maybe once in my adult life. The doctor even said, no it's just a bad cold.
Hand washing is a must. Buy a juicer. Load up on raw fruits and veggies. Empower your immune system through proper nutrition, fresh air, exercise and sleep.
Avoid fast food like the plauge!!! It's crap!!
You know the people flipping your burgers never wash!
Every time I have gotten a flu shot I got sick, just like everyone else in my family. Now I keep my hands cleaner, get a good night's sleep, fresh air (the windows get opened EVERY morning for 10 to 20 minutes, depending on the wind speed), a brisk walk every morning, and I drink echinacea tea according to the directions on the box. Yes, I know that research says echinacea does not prevent a cold, but it is helpful for treating one for some people. All I know is that I have not had more than sniffles for about 10 years.
I am told that the stuff in the syringe is dead virus; seems many people end up at home fighting the flu.
Blake, Peter, EEK, I hate to make a claim that is counter to your argument, but your claims that you get sick after getting the flu shot are anecdotes and coincidence at best. If you understand how the body's immune system and antigens work, you know that building the immune system is not going to make one sick. If you got sick after getting a flu shot, it was not from the flu and it was not at all due to you're getting a flu shot. Please, don't spread ignorance on this. Everyone (generally) who is not allergic to albumin should get a flu shot.
Actually if you read the documentation given with the flu shot, you will see that one of the side effects in some people can be "flu-like symptoms". No, you are not really catching the flu from the shot, but the shot can cause an adverse reaction that mimics the symptoms of the flu.
i want to be even more negative on flu shots... before you take one read the label and the manufacturer... where do you think most of the major pharmaceutical giants are from ? GERMANY... the same germans that created the concentrations camps and killed anyone that did not suit their mold. Also guess who is pushing for you to get a shot ? Our government that does not have enough funds to pay for your pensions (now or in 5/10/20 yrs) or decided to force a mass sterilization of their own people (NC) under the name of eugenics... Now we are supposed to trust someone to inject us with something we cannot test before ? Not sure about you... i am not getting one. thanks for reading.
..........bawwwwwwwwww... The American public are a bunch of sheep!!! The only one benifiting is big PHARMA, which is making a bunch of $$$$$$$$$$$...
Taking the flu shot will NOT prevent you from getting sick. What a joke!!! There are thousands and thousands of flu bugs out there (viral and bacterial) and some high and mighty power at all of the pharmacutical companies make some educated guess on which 3-5 are going to effect the general public!! WAKE UP AMERICA!!! Flu shots have been linked with rheumatoid arthritis, autism, and Guillain-Barre's Syndrome...not to mention has murcury, formaldehyde, and aluminum in them... not to mention that some of them are made with aborted fetus if not put in chicken eggs!!!
I am a nurse and I think it is OUTRAGEOUS that healthcare workers all over the country have been threatened with their jobs, and that nationwide hospitals are trying to take away informed consent!!! This nurse will LEAVE the field of nursing before being FORCED to take a flu shot!!!
Agree completely tiger2033! People, DO NOT get a flu shot. They are are full of nothing short of poisons sanctioned by big pharma for one thing only - to make gobs of MONEY.
"They are are full of nothing short of poisons sanctioned by big pharma for one thing only - to make gobs of MONEY."
Half right. They are making gobs of money, yes. But they're sanctioned by Big Pharma AND the United Nations(which sloshes on over to all Americans by default) because.....*drumroll, please* ..... they're eugenicists. Follow the money. Look at the board of directors. Read their history. It's as obvious as the nose on your face. But it's so insidious that people can't face it. They don't want to face it. They just can't because it's uncomfortable to realize how thick the wool is over our eyes.
If people woke up and faced the reality of what is happening(and HAS been happening for sixy+ years now!) then we'd have a revolution the likes of which this world has never seen. Every politician in power would be garotted, quartered, and then dragged through the streets in pieces. I'm not being sensational. I'm being rational. Read REAL history. Put down the fiction and fluff. Educate yourself.
Read about Rockefeller, Bill Gates, and all the other rich big wigs. Their agenda is clear, it's not hidden! Bill Gates said during a live conference that he'd be HAPPY if vaccines were more dangerous than they are today! Here's the quote:
"The world today has 6.8 billion people... that's headed up to about 9 billion. Now if we do a really great job on new vaccines, health care, reproductive health services, we could lower that by perhaps 10 or 15 percent."
Smoke a lot of cigarettes and cigars. This will make people stay away from you thus eliminating the public and close people issue.
Wear the Michael Jackson glove on both hands :)
The flu SHOT doesn't have any active virus in it- only proteins purified from the outside of the bug, which educate your immune system as to what to attack if it sees those proteins again. I emphasize "shot", because the flumist nasal vaccine does contain attenuated live virus which has been modified to survive only in the upper respiratory tract. Any "flu-like" symptoms that appear after getting the shot is the response of the immune system to exposure to the flu proteins, NOT an indication of infection. It's actually a good sign, as it shows a strong immune response - which is what you want to see.
Every year it is the same hype - I can't remember when the last time I had the flu - ok one day and it was over 16 yrs ago. Think this is for the drug companies to sell their "shots"
I used to never have problems after flu shots when in the Air Force (12 years). After I got out, every time I got the flu shot, I would get sick. You can still get the flu after being vaccinated if the flu strain is different then what the vaccine was set up for. This is all big Pharma hype. Pharma does not make money unless people are sick. Big Pharma is i bed with the CDC and the World Health Organization (WHO). Remember when WHO was preaching about how bad the H1N1 threat was supposed to be a few years back? Only to find out that some of the folks speaking on the WHO's behalf are actually subsidized by Big Pharma. Companies that make hand sanitizers and face masks really made out big when everyone was all freaked out about an"Epic Pandemic". Don't forget duct tape and plastic sheeting companies.
@Al-2891780
I didn't say I got the flu after getting the shot. I said I got sick. I know the virus I got was dead. But I can't imagine why else I got sick when just the day before I felt just fine. Coincidence? Then seven of the eight years in the military and being required to get the shot followed by days of taking medication to alleviate the symptoms is a mighty big coincidence. The year my medical records reflected I had received the shot was the only year I did not get sick.
When you get a flu vaccine, your body creates antibodies to fight the flu it thinks you have. Your immune system doesn't have infinite resources, so you are more vulnerable to catching something else at that time. Just like when you run yourself ragged and don't get enough sleep.
@Al-2891780,
I never said I got the flu after getting the shot either. I never even got the shot!!!!! I said my family members have in the past and the always get sick after receiving it. "getting sick" doesn't mean flu always, they just got sick. So calm the Eff down Al.
Just more of the standard get you damn flu shot propanda.
One thing though. They do try and hit all angles in order to push sales.
That's 93% sold.
Yet in the related stories at the bottom of the page it says:
Flu shots still a hard sell, health experts say
LOL. It's the "you better hurry and get yours" approach.
Get a flu shot. Wash hands often. Cover your mouth and nose when sneezing or coughing. Eat more fruits and vegetables. Get enough sleep.
These things are not hard, and will help keep you, and those close to you, from getting sick.
The last time I skipped getting the flu shot, I was down for two weeks. Haven't missed one since.
Haven't had a flu shot for decades, worked as a registered nurse in Los Angeles for years among very sick patients, never got the flu.
It's what you put in your body such as healthy low sugar carb foods, NON GMOs, adequate protein, plenty of fresh vegetables, nuts, vitamin D, little fresh fruits, and surround yourself with kind healthy friends and family. That usually works. Trying to think positive thoughts helps too. :)
Almost everyone who I speak with that gets a flu vaccine, tells me they then get the flu...
Last time I got the flu was shortly after getting a flu shot about 10 years ago...haven't gotten the shot since and haven't had the flu since.
And those who are allergic to the flu vaccinations lives on. No guarantee the vaccine will cover the virus we come into contact with the first place. Virus are always metamorphosing & changing.
Pharmacies working with CDC to fill there pocket.
I agree. I haven't had the flu since 2002, and that was the only year I did NOT get the flu shot since 1988. I never get sick from the shot; the shot itself does NOT contain live virus. What is does is force your body to create the antibodies that can fight off the flu virus if and when it comes across it. That does drain your immune system a bit and so you're more likely to get sick in the days following the shot. That's why it's best to get it early before so much viruses are in the air.
Avoid Zombies!! They never wash their hands!!
Don't let a wampire bite you!!! So many icky germs in mouths and on teeth!!
I have gotten the flu shot exactly ONCE. I was pregnant, and had gotten the flu one other time while pregnant and was miserable. I haven't had the shot since, and have not gotten the flu. I also eat very healthily, don't eat much sugar, tons of fruits and veggies, and don't eat processed foods or fast food/restaurant food. I'm almost never sick. Then again, I'm a stay at home mom, and I am not exposed to every little thing either. Not sure which thing it is, or both....
After having the so-called "flu", I could never understand how in the world people died from it - yeah, it was inconvenient and uncomfortable, but die? Then, about 16 years ago I had a severe case of the real flu and I then completely understood. My body was wracked with such indescribably incredible pain unlike I had ever known and every cell was affected with the pain. I recall crying and begging the doctor to give me something, anything to stop the pain. This episode lasted about 10 days - I lost over a week in work and even went back to work with a fever (not good, I know, but there was no one to do my job in my absence).
Ever since then, I tremble with fear when I am late in getting the flu shot (I became an instant convert after the above flu episode, whereas prior I had been a skeptic). I'll take the momentary discomfort of having 'flu-like' symptoms over the probability of EVER having the real flu again.
Get my shot early every year. The shot version is a dead virus, as in it can't give you the flu. The option is the nasal spray which has a live virus and you will get sick for a bit. Other than getting my vaccine, I stay away from town and those nasty folks who don't have the common courtesy to cover their stupid mouth when they cough, or wash their hands. Oh, and as a side note, I eat very hot chili peppers. Guaranteed to keep you healthy.
The keys to influenza prevention are the following:
Make sure to get the vaccine, especially if your company proivides it for you. And also make sure to wash your hands frequently until your skin is so dry it starts peeling off on an hourly basis.
Finally, abstain from all alchohol consumption, smoking, red meats, chicken wings, saturated fats, egg nog, complex carbohydrates, sugars, extra large value meals & soft drinks, attending any holiday parties, having unprotected sex, and watching re-runs of Two and a Half Men. That should guarantee your health over the flu season.
Another couple of easy things to do are wash your face and blow your nose. This removes "bugs" from their entry points. The flu shot isn't foolproof, but it sure helps.
The flu shot this year is about a 90% match to the dominant circulating strains, which is pretty darn good, considering that they have to make that "best guess" many months ahead of time to get production of the vaccine started. That said, a vaccine is only as good as the immune system of the recipient - it does absolutely nothing on its own. People tend to forget that. So those with good immune systems who don't get the shot are jeopardizing those with weak immune systems, like infants and elderly folks, who don't get the full benefit of the shot even if they get it.
I've always found that plenty of alcohol has kept me virus free. Maybe the little buggers can't survive the onslaught of gin and vodka.
My prescription: A half-pint of any of the clear liquors every evening.
So at least if you get the flu, you'll be feeling no pain
I Agree!!!!!!
Nah, sorry, but everyone knows that a fifth of Sailor Jerry's Rum if the only thing keeping the flu away.
hambone johnson
Ha, your post made me laugh, but your poor liver...
:(
Had an old uncle who swore moonshine kept the bugs away, at last what is a virus? He lived 98 years.
While living in Ethiopia we always drank a beer with the local made food to "kill" what ever hopped a ride on it! Maybe Something to that alcohol cleaning the system out?!
Stay away from congressmen!! Who knows where those sick pucks have been!
I would like to see actual stats on the flu, effectiveness of flu shots etc. that aren't skewed by the CDC and Big Pharma....independent statistics. I'm a registered nurse and just never, ever gets the flu and so never got a flu shot til the past 3 years when it became no longer a right for me to refuse a medication that I didn't want being put into my body. I still don't get the flu but I don't believe for one minute that it's because of the flu shot. I have to wonder about the long term effects of having this "whatever they've concocted THIS year" being shot into my body...and everybody else's.
A LITTLE TIP IF YOU PLAN ON VISTING VEGAS in the flu season:
I live in NV., every year I would get the flu when I worked as a 21 dealer at a major casino on the stip. Players do not cancel their Vegas trips even if they are sick. Wash you hands after playing any casino games or machines.
More scare tactics from the govt. and big pharma. They need to make their quotas, regardless of how much poison they inject into the public.
So, you think it's a giant conspiracy theory and that "big pharma" and the men with the black hats manage to talk tens of millions of Americans into faking flu symptoms? Time to adjust the tin foil hat.
Very True Red Sailor.... don't worry about people like
TraceySwho will remain in everlasting ignorance..."There is a principle which is a bar against all information. Which is proof against ALL arguments, and which cannot fail to keep a man in everlasting ignorance. That principle is contempt prior to investigation"
They make up their mind before they research anything and will remain fools till they learn the hard way... Hopefully they wake up and come out of the MATRIX soon...
lol The CDC ALWAYS predicts a bad flu season. Flu shots have been scientifically proven to be ineffective, but they still push them. Quack Quack Quack
Jonathan -
I have investigated the vaccination "scam" that you seem to wholeheartedly denounce. I have determined that your anti-vax fearmongering is nothing more than a sham, wishful thinking, placebo, and celebrity-seeking. In other words, I have post-investigation contempt for you and everyone like you.
Edwin-2Trees -
Flu shots proven scientifically to be ineffective? Please, do tell me about your homeopathic/herbalistic/holistic/whatever new-age woo you feel has no need of actual scientific analysis, because the only "scientists" you listen to are Andrew Wakefield and Jenny McCarthy.
Fine anti-vax people, eschew the shots, and while you're at it, don't take antibiotics either, what's to worry about with a little infection now and then. Hope your kids don't have to suffer and die because of your stupidity.
I got pneumonia last year, and nearly died (for real). Right now, I'm immunized against anything I can think of. I was fairly well immunized before, and my health had/has been good, it was just one little slip and BOOM. I never want to be that sick again. Just a word to the wise, there's no such thing as "too safe."
@TracyS
I bet you still think 911 was organized by some guy in a cave too.
Grow up.
Red: No, I know it was little green men from space who organized 9/11! Yeah, and "big pharma" is trying to manipulate our minds with alien space rays, and then there's Elvis...better make the tin foil hat a big stronger.
Janstince- check the Cochrane Library- the number one source for evidence based medicine. Anyone who argues that flu shots are effective is arguing against the very best science has to offer. BYW I am a medical school professor who has personally done research on the efficacy of flu vaccines. What are your credentials?
The easy way to solve this is to tax any profit from the flue shots at 100%. Sure the people actually manufacturing the shots would have a incentive to lie since their job is on the line but you would not have big pharma twisting every fact to get you to give them your money.
John: Vaccines have no profit margin. That's why the U.S. government has to pay pharmaceutical companies to produce them. Ignorance can be cured with education.
TraceyS, Ignorance can only be cured with truth. Forget education when Texas produces and edits textbooks for the rest of the country. But here's some education for you; with flu shots costing between 25-30 bucks each, the profit margin is between 30 and 50 percent (Wall Street Journal). More than enough to NOT need a government subsidy. More pharmacies and grocery stores are jumping on the band wagon to offer flu shots that the pharmaceutical companies are producing more vaccine then ever before. And even if it is a dead virus, then why the "side effects"? The medical community has been wrong before. Remember when is was said that the blood of a pregnant woman never interchanges with that of the unborn baby (that's why they can have different blood types), then Thalidomide came around to treat morning sickness?
edwin,
what are you a professor in?
Why you don't need a flu shot:
http://www.whale.to/vaccines/flu.html
In all seriousness, please see a profressional about possible treatment options for your paranoia. You are missing a really cool world while you hide behind the curtains...
Hey Tim...
"There is a principle which is a bar against all information. Which is proof against ALL arguments, and which cannot fail to keep a man in everlasting ignorance. That principle is contempt prior to investigation"
I don't need to investigate to know there are not little blue men behind every tree
Jonathon, if you repeat this nonsense often enough, does it make it more believable to you?
WOT alerted on that link by the way.
California Nurse -
I just keep prescribing the same thing for ignorance... it's called TRUTH...
most can't handle that...
where do you sit? from the look of your user name, you are a nurse... and probably believe everything that they taught you at school...
I would honestly say you probably learned a lot of good stuff... but getting the flu shot or any other vaccination is not a good idea...
unless you like puting mercury and aborted fetal tissue and other stuff like that into your system...
correct me if I am wrong..
The only thing to fear is fear itself. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger. It's called the immune system.
King D, well said!
12 years in the Navy, flu shot every year, flu every year.
32 years since last flu shot, not had flu since!
http://www.drgangemi.com/2012/10/flu-virus-vaccine-2012/
Red Sailor, your ignorance of science is tragic.
But TraceyS, you forgot to yell that Red Sailor's story was also 'anecdotal' and therefore invalid.
My numbers are different, Red, but the story's basically the same. The handful of times I got the flu shot I wound up in the hospital with pneumonia and complete exhaustion immediately after. Also, I was tested for heavy metals and oh my gosh! Guess what? I was suffering from mercury and aluminum overload. Two things that'll kill your immune system faster than anything else. And guess where I got the mercury and aluminum? From those shots.
I quit taking the flu shot and wow, no more flu or pneumonia since. Magic. ....? NOT! That is called rational thinking-- something that most people just can't seem to do nowadays because they're so freaking infatuated with being indoctrinated by the Pharma companies. It's easier to let the other people do all your thinking for you, then you can get back to your Real Life in TV and video games and other nonsense that doesn't matter.
Learn to use your common sense. If something doesn't feel right then it ISN'T right. Don't let other people convince you that they know your body better than you do, especially when they get paid for it(doc's, clinics, etc.)
Here's some important trivia. Did you know that if you become horribly ill(Guillan Barre, or any other related disease/syndrome including AUTISM(yes, it's been proven) from the shots that the Pharma companies cannot be sued? Yep. Thank Congress for that nastiness. They're in bed so tight with Pharma their armpits stink from amorous activities. So, you get sick or die and you have no recourse. Your family has no recourse. It's an 'acceptable risk' medical treatment and NO administering doctor will sign a liability form saying that they'd take responsibility for you getting sick, but they certainly expect you, the patient, to. When you sign that consent and liability form you are in fact giving your life over to the Pharma company who made that vaccine. You are saying that your life is in their very irresponsible hands. Look at the number of lawsuits filed the past twenty years for death and negligent science. Then decide if you want their 'medicine' in your body. Choose very very carefully.
I feel sorry for all the millions of people whose jobs are on the line for noncompliance. I'd sooner live in a tent and lose everything than put that @!$%# in my body again. We have to stand up.
Read about Agenda 21 legislation that has been gradually gearing up the past 12-15 years. All this vaccination crap has to do with Agenda 21 and Codex Alimentarius. These are not sci-fi type topics. This is reality. This stuff is happening right under our noses, people.
Stand up. Tell them no. They cannot continue if we are not blindly compliant!!!! Servitude of this scope has to be based on personal compliance, not force. What are you willing to put up with?
What about all the kids getting sick and dying from Gardasil?! Now researchers who're studying the corpses of those kids are finding that the RNA in the vaccine is still in their tissue and shouldn't have been in the vaccine in such a high quantity. And what do the Pharma companies say? "Must have been a bad batch." Yeah right. It's not a cancer vaccine. It's giving them cancer and/or weakening their young immune systems so much that it causes systemic organ failure. Sounds like a perfect plan for population control.
Wake up, people!
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Autism/link-vaccine-autism-link-fraud-british-medical-journal/story?id=12547823#.UL2OwYbcw_Q
“Dr. Andrew Wakefield, a former British surgeon, published research in 1998 that seemed to establish a link between vaccines and autism. But authors of the editorial confirmed previous suggestions that Wakefield skewed patients' medical records to support his hypothesis that the widely-used measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) combination vaccine was causing autism and irritable bowel disease.”
Agenda 21 has been blown out of proportion by Conservative conspiracy theorists. Glenn Beck has recently released a book with a video showing America looking like a cross between World War II era Britain when it was being rationed and Nazi Germany.
Codex Alimentarius is the equivalent of the American Food and Drug Administration (without regulation on drugs), regulating safe food production and has been around since 1963 and now we have conspiracy theories stating that food is being irradiated or they're creating "Frankenfoods", or that the organization was founded by an ex-Nazi. This scare is mostly being pushed by alternative medicine practitioners or pushers of organic foods and being exploited by hard-right One "World Order"/"One World Government" conspiracy theorists. They have no basis in fact! I don't know about you, but I kinda like being able to eat foods without worrying that it might be tainted or too old because there is no expiration date.
If you want to risk a potential but preventable disease, drink raw milk or pay nearly twice as much for "organic" foods, go right ahead, but people needs to be careful about what they read because most of these "health experts" don't have a license to practice medicine and air-head celebrities (Jenny McCarthy) are not the best source for information.
"but people needs to be careful about what they read"
THat's the most boneheaded thing I've read all day. Try, "careful what you believe."
I read a lot. But I only believe things that are backed up by hard science AND personal experience.
Think conspiracy theorists are kooks? Really think Codex and Agenda are just rubbish? Read more about them than what's in your local newspaper or glossy pretty magazines. They're run by globalists.
Angelica1254,
It's good to see someone with good common sense.
Actually TraceyS, it's your blind ignorance that is tragic. Look at some of the other posts, you will see. Unless of course you work for a pharmaceutical company, which I doubt.
From your comments I would guess that your frontal lobes haven't fully developed yet and I bet you have a tattoo, pierced body parts, breast implants and text while driving, Close?
"Look at some of the other posts, you will see."
What I see are a lot of other paranoid, scientifically illiterate posters.
Shouldn't you turn your Iphone off in class blondie? I'd listen to the teacher if I were you, maybe you'll learn something.
I nailed it didn't I? Tell me I nailed it! Ha!
Red Sailor, your desperation is sort of sad. Have you no friends?
They always say this, remember how bad, the bird flu or swine flu was supposed to be, oh and we were supposed to have the worst hurricane season ever (we did have one bad storm)......it's all FUD, Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt.
Yeah, tell the few million people in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut who no longer have houses or possessions (or family members, in some cases) that the hurricane was a big hoax.
I know 4 children who were hospitalized, a few on a ventilator, as a result of swine flu, so while it may not have been bad for you, it was very bad for those who contracted it and still have lingering effects. Fortunately we have the right to protect ourselves however we see fit. I believe better safe than sorry, but we all have to make these decisions for ouselves and our families. I think the people who were affected by the flus and the storms might have a difference of opinion.
I grew up in an era when vaccines were first being used & I was old enough to have known children who suffered the worst from childhood diseases such a measles, small pox's, & polio. For some death would have been a blessing. I had friend & relatives blinded, deaf, mentally handicapped, left permanently deform & the death rate was high. Science & vaccines were the saviors. Yes there is still research needed on effects, long & short term.
I even question if autism is related not to the child's vaccination but those of the parents & grandparents on a microbiological level. However, my children & grandchildren are all vaccinated because the risks are worth it, I learned from the past.
"This flu season could be a bad one"? How profound. That's like saying we're probably going to have some cold weather this winter.
It's coming much earlier than usual, and the dominant strain is H3N2, which tends to be more severe. So yes, it could be a bad flu season. Whether or not we have any cold weather remains to be seen.
And who will profit from selling flu shots?
http://www.globalresearch.ca/who-owns-the-rights-on-tamiflu-rumsfeld-to-profit-from-bird-flu-hoax/1148
This is it ....."bad flu season". The final pandemic.... The pestilence .......The end of days .....Woe is me...
Don't PANIC!!!! It said "could" be...........
Wash your hands and don't touch your face (eyes, nose, mouth). Problem solved.
No, you have to stay at home away from people also.
Not, "Problem solved, Joey" Most viruses are air-borne. By your calculations, it would be, wash hands, don't touch face and don't breath, then problem solved. lol
It would be interesting to see the % of vaccinations for flu in the 5 States mentioned as compared with other States. Those areas in the South have been known to ignore science in favor of the Bible.
I'm an agnostic atheist living in the South, and I haven't gotten the flu, nor the flu vaccine. Instead, I be smart when I go outside, wash my hands as frequently as possible, and don't eat at buffet-style establishments. Also, drink plenty of fluids and make sure I keep a healthy and balanced diet, as well as a strict training regimen.
Considering the number of people who still get the flu and have side-effects from the vaccines, I think I'll pass and just use common sense.
Ranman: Side effects of the flu vaccine- a sore arm.
I'm glad you've been able to dodge the flu without a vaccine. Lots of people do. The unlucky, or those less resistant or more exposed than you, don't always live to tell about it.
More like:
If I get a flu shot, I'm guaranteed to feel crappy for an extended period of time. Not full-blown sickness, but just generally crappy. Enough so to alter my daily routine. When I don't get the shot and actually do get the flu, I feel totally crappy for about 3 days. 3 days vs. 2+ weeks? I'll take the 3 days. In the last 10 years of no flu shots, I've gotten the flu once.
JoeyJoeJoJunior -
It is very unlikely that you got the influenza virus if you were only sick for 3 days. If you really had influenza, you more than likely would have felt terrible a lot longer. Many people confuse influenza what is commonly called "the flu."
@califonia nurse
Sore arm huh?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8riAeGh48U
apparently the formula missed the boat a bit. I got the shot and still got the flu. There was a month difference between the 2 so I was not infected prior to the vaccine
I've heard that.. I'm in SC.. know of some who got the flu shot and also still got the flu. It's ramping up here as well. Thankfully no one in my office has yet to pass it around (people.. STAY HOME if you are sick!!)
My 82 year old neighbor got her yearly flu shot, and she says she hasn't felt very well since.
Yeah, because 82-year-olds are normally so robust.
LOL, Tracey! We would definitely get along extremely well!
Yeah! tweedle dumb and tweedle dumber.
Never had a flu shot never will get one. Im still alive HMMM.
You can also prevent getting the flu by praying to your god 5 times a day. Yeah, that should do it. :-P
and what do you think Crucie? do you believe that you were created by a God? or are you just a few bits of random star dust that came alive somehow after the "big bang" LOL
WEAK SAUCE
Actually, Johnny. if you were smarter you wouldn't oversimplify like that. You'd have to be able to process more than one thought at a time to even begin to understand the concept.
But you'll never understand, so don't worry about it. The bible makes a good pacifier. Read your scriptures now, and pray. That's a good boy!
Oh, an off-topic religious war starting on a Newsvine article. That's never happened before.
Yeah, and they're always so helpful!
Funny, it could be just me, but isn't it EVERY YEAR that these clowns say "Bad Year for Flu, ohhhh noooes!".
Every year they claim the Flu is a killer, or that some BS swine flu is going to get us.
I must be crazy, I'm 45 and have as yet to see any form of flu epidemic in my area.
The Media is looking for any cheap headline. The pharma wants your money. The Gov't wants to prove it can get you to inject yourself with anything, on command.
WalkWithMe: In 1918, the Spanish flu killed three percent of the Earth's population...as many as 50 million people. If you think that can never happen again, you're a fool.
I just posted some truth and was all deleted. HUMMMMMMM!
yeah let's prevent people from getting the flu by...injecting them with the flu???
Does it hurt, being that stupid? You probably walk into walls and fall down a lot.
Just like the AMA who will bring up felony charges on Doctors who do not follow 1 of 3 treatments for Cancer. Surgery, Chemo, Radiation. Two of the 3 are proven to cause Cancer. Fight Cancer with Cancer. Big Pharma wants you to stay sick. Period. Human Genome project primary funding comes from Big Pharma. Why? Bcs it will create a need for a single drug for every single gene. That's a lot of new drugs and revenue for the greedy ones.
Do you know how vaccines work? Or are you really that dumb?
gangus - yes, some of the chemotherapies CAN (not necessarily WILL) give you a secondary cancer some 7 - 8 years down the line. However, such chemotherapies are frequently given for an aggressive cancer with a 50%, or higher, mortality and a life expectancy of 7 - 8 months.
What it boils down to is: 7 months or 7 years. Take your pick, the 7 months being definite and the 7 years only possible, if at all.
Seren, I just ask folks to expand the realm of the possible. Most here in the US would laugh at Chinese medicine. I laugh back. We have some great things in Western med but we also love to give out pills to fight everything. This is flat crazy to me. We all laugh at the commercials for these drugs which site innumerable side effects including death. CDC admits deaths occur due to vaccinations. Other cures, natural cures exist. I just don't understand the blind allegiance. It's akin to North Korea in my mind and the cheering crowds chanting, "dear leader"!
ganguskhan, there is no "natural" cure for polio or smallpox. Even with modern medicine, or Chinese medicine, infants still die from pertussis and the measles. Vaccines are extremely beneficial and extreme side effects are very rare.
Like I said, we do have some great things in western med. At the turn of the century Cancer killed 1/20 people. In 1950 the number grew to 1/10. We currently stand at 1/3. I don't have the answers but neither do the doctors. We should have been able to at least reduce numbers by this stage just like the ones you have shown above. Why is the rate increasing? I'm sure the answer is not simple but one thing is for sure, we don't know.
gang,
Although I agree with you somewhat about relying solely on Western remedies, I cannot believe that you got your cancer statistics right.
Are you statistics by year? Are you suggesting that one third of the human population dies of cancer every year? That seems far-fetched at best.
My son, a healthy nineteen year old college student, decided to get the 2009 H1N1 vaccine, he was given the Flumist vaccine, thirty-two days later he passed away from Myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart caused by a recent viral infection. My son had not been sick and did not have any heart problems. No one will ever convince me that these flu vaccines are safe, they do not have enough time to do complete clinical testing on the types of viruses that are used for that year. If these vaccines were so safe why did the pharmaceutical companies that develop them threaten to quit if they were not protected by our government from lawsuits, yes, if you have an adverse reaction our own government protects the manufacturers, healthcare personnel and institutions from any type of lawsuit unless you can prove willful misconduct.
sorry to hear about your loss... I have heard countless stories about things like this...
THESE EVIL CORPORATIONS NEED TO DO! follow the money...
The problem with all pharmaceuticals, is the cross section of humans they are tested on. Seriously, look into many major drugs and how long they were studied for and how many total people were evaluated. You will be shocked by what a small sample group, and what a lopsided demographic, the FDA lets them get away with. It is really disturbing when you find out a lifelong "maintenance" medication was only charted for one year.
Anecdotal evidence, from non-industry individuals, is that vaccines can trigger viruses and neurological damage. There will be a dozen people now posting here that will call me nuts, and try to link together a hundred NON-Connected studies that proved all vaccines are OK. Funny how these guys (often stooge Doctor and Pharma employees) will tell everyone how wrong they are, yet can not come up with one UNIFIED INTERNATIONAL COMPREHENSIVE STUDY - they won't, because it has never happened.
A whole month between events counts as correlation these days? interesting.
@James
So unless someone drops dead immediately, then there is no correlation?
Thirty-two days is more than enough time for another infection, viral or otherwise, to have infected enzo's son and caused his myocarditis. In fact, if the myocardits had been caused by the flu vaccine, it is far more likely it would have shown up much sooner than thirty-two days.
I feel for enzo and his tradgedy, but it seems highly unlikely that the vaccine casued his son's death.
The vaccine is a dead virus, folks! Dead! I can't cause a viral infection, no matter how much you want to blame it.
I'm sorry you blindly believe what you have been told. Your learned knowledge is from one source weather you realize it or not.
While the Vaccine itself may not cause another virus is a moot point. It is simply ignorant medicine, not to admit that something in the Vaccine could have caused an unexpected reaction which weakens someone immune system.
The vaccine is "dead", but it still produces a "reaction" in us - to see so called "professionals" sit on a pulpit and say it won't have any other effects on people, just proves that the people in the professions just lap up whatever is printed on paper. Funny that we know of hundreds of "good" drugs etc, that have hundreds of potential adverse interactions when combined with anything from other meds to as simple as grapefruit juice - but we are supposed to believe that a vaccine that changes every year is perfectly safe? AYFKM?
A bit baffling to see how many medical professionals, and pharma employees, become shiny faced Kool-aide drinkers - but then again, 50% of all doctors finish in the bottom half of the class...
Walk, no one denies that vaccines can cause allergic reactions and side effects, but the severe reactions are so incredibly rare. The good of the vaccination outweighs the slim possibility of an adverse reaction.
CA Nurse: FluMist is a LIVE VIRUS! I would think you should know that.
Like the nurse said, there's dead little buggers in the flu shot. Those dead buggers came alive within me, and I got the flu twice. That's enough proof for me.
FYI, the needle is a dead virus, the Flumist is a weakened LIVE virus, Pericarditis is listed as a side effect that has been reported after receiving the vaccine. Pericarditis and Myocarditis are BOTH inflammations of the heart, just different parts of the heart.
Do the math people, we get inundated with commercials daily in the media that talks about this new drug that will control high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, weight, a wandering mate...... more than likely in about three to four years there will be a class actions lawsuit against these same companies. Clinical testing is done in four phases, the first phase usually takes several months, it is designed to determine what happens to the drug in the human body--how it is absorbed, metabolized, and excreted. Phase two may last from several months to two years and involve up to several hundred patients. Phase threes studies typically last several years. Once a phase three study is successfully completed, a pharmaceutical company can request FDA approval for marketing the drug. This virus in a vaccine form was tested on humans in a clinical testing environment was less five months. I was told by the local Health Department where he received his vaccination that they have to decide if the benefits outweigh the risks, (efficacy) and they realize some people will have adverse reactions and even die, but more people will benefit. My son did say he had a sore throat and felt tired about two weeks after receiving the vaccine but he felt fine the next day. He had always been healthy and was not one to run to the doctor for every little ailment. We all have those days we feel like crap, we ride it out and a few days later we are back up and running, if not then we go see a doctor.
I am not anti-vaccine, Christopher had all his childhood vaccines, and he had a couple before he went to college. I guess I just find it strange that if these vaccines are so safe why are the billion dollar pharmas protected, why don't they have to follow the same guidelines and rules as anyone else who develops a product, why don't they have enough confidence in the safety of their vaccines that they feel they have to be protected by the government.
My profile picture is a picture of my son taken a couple months before he passed away. His name is Christpopher, he was a avid golfer, skier, and mountain biker. He wasn't obese or a couch potato, he had no medical issues. He was just just Christopher and he had dreams, he was also my only child and he always made sure he gave me, his mom, a hug before he left the house.
Correction, my son's name is Christopher. This is information that I found while researching after we received the final report from the medical examiner, keep in mind we asked the medical examiner several times to check for the H1N1 vaccine and were told that it "could have not been caused by the vaccine" but after we received the final results I was told that it was too late to isolate it down that far.
Vaccine antibodies stimulate the production of antibodies used by the immune system to identify and neutralize foreign objects such as viruses and bacteria. Myocarditis is often an autoimmune reaction during and after a viral infection and the immune system may attack cardiac myosin. Flumist contains live attenuated influenza viruses that must infect and replicate in cells lining the nasopharynx of the recipient to induce immunity. The Flumist vaccine stimulates the production of antibodies in both the blood and nose. Blood is carried through the circulatory system. One function of the circulatory system is to transport these cells from the immune system to all other parts of the body. This would include the heart.
My sincere condolences to you enzo, losing a child is every parent's worse fear and I'm sorry you've had to go through it.
@California Nurse--the flu mist is a live virus.
Enzo, I extend my most sincere condolences. You should have been told the risks of using the mist before your son was immunized. Unfortunately your family suffered a tragedy. Thanks for posting the correct info on using the live virus vs. a dead virus. You never know, your post could end up saving other lives.
Blessings to you and your family.
Wait, I thought most everyone should already be dead from the flu the past few years from what the CDC told us in the past.
Don't they say this every year?
When's the last time you've heard "oh, well, the flu season will be relatively mild. Nothing to worry about."
Last year, actually. The CDC said it didn't expect a severe flu season.
My 12 year old just returned from the Doctor's office with a case of swine flu.He had his flu shot a couple of months ago.Our Doctor said that the flu has mutated and appears to only affect young children. So if you have children watch them closely. I will have to be very careful because I have COPD.
All you know and believe is what is taught. Do so research and understand where our current understanding of medicine come from. The AMA was, "purchased" by Rockefeller and made a for profit entity. He paid for and donated vast amount of funds to medical colleges and created the FDA to prevent private entities from doing real research. Soon, just like what is happening in present day with the Koch brothers they asked to appoint their own cronies into the universities. These clowns brought their own "truths' to bear and over a short period of time killed Empirical medicine. Why? Bcs the greedy could not monetize that tradition. Ask yourself what happens every single time you go for treatment? You almost always receive a prescription for something. $$$. Are you any good to the system if your healthy? Nope. We are all welcome to believe whatever we wish but I don't believe we are told the truth. If you sight doctors who have no choice but to be taught one way if they want to practice as examples of why I should believe then go ahead and bow your head sheep. Baaaaahhhhhh
well said GANGUSKHAN
Not disputing your entire post, just the prescription part. When we go to the doctor for check-ups, do we really get prescriptions every time? I certainly don't. In fact, I don't remember the last time that happened, if ever. When we go to the doctor when we're sick, don't we WANT a prescription of some sort? Otherwise, why go to the doctor? I've heard countless times, "I'm not going to the doctor, he's just going to tell me it's a cold and send me home." Or, "I'm so mad, I went to the doctor and he couldn't even do anything for me! What's he good for anyway?".
Just seems like a double-edged sword to me.
"Do so research and understand where our current understanding of medicine come from."
Exactly! For anyone interested: read about fibromyalgia in relation to the following meds: Cymbalta, Celexa, Lyrica, and Savella. Look at their efficacy rates. Look at the medications themselves and what class their in. Look at their COST.
Now read www.fibromyalgiatreatment.com and about Dr. St. Amand. This man has been slammed on by the research community for decades when he has done more for the fibromyalgia community than any Big Pharma company. But of course.... Big Pharma can't make money off a plant extract, can they? Noo... they can't. Which is why Dr. St. Amand and his fund have had to do all their own independent research the past thirty years.
The City of Hope trials in 2008, successful. We can now determine with 80% accuracy if someone in a family line has fibromyalgia or will feel it at some point in their life. All from looking at specific genetic markers.
But you don't hear about this research or the multiple papers he's written about it. Why? Again, Big Pharma can't make money off a plant extract and therefore they do anything and everything they can to cover up, buy out, or slander the information to make sure they can still sell those horrible pills to us.
He wrote a line of books, the first being What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Fibromyalgia. It's a guaier's bible. It's really all you need to know to get well.
Personal note: those drugs I listed above made me so sick I was hallucinated and had to go to the ER for heart problems and dangerous blood pressure. Dr. St. Amand's protocol has me up and out of the bed living my life.
Big Pharma can stick it. I was so sick I wanted to kill myself. Independent research is what saved me and for that I am eternally grateful.
The media and advertising is controlled by the NWO. Why are pharmaceutical companies allowed to advertise on TV. The [Ask your doctor if you should be taking "killmequick"] routine is aimed at the hypochondriacs out there who want antibiotics for a head cold. They are as much to blame as the advertising bottom feeders.
Why do doctors dispense drugs unnecessarily. Because every day doctors offices are full of Pharma reps pushing their wares for perks. We are the test subjects, the guinea pigs.
It's all about money. I've said it a hundred times; there is no Health Care in this country, it is a "Health BUSINESS" period.
Oh a BAD flu season...so let's all run out an injected ourselves with mercury, aluminum, MSG and formaldehyde! That should help keep the flu away. And all I was going to do, is increase Vit = D, exercise, get plenty of rest, wash my hands with soap and water and have little to no sugar and processed foods.
Damn - I should have just got the darn shot at WalMart and call be " PROTECTED " -- nah... ill just get my lazy, fat butt to the some jab - lab and let the med heads - protect me--since they have done such a great job with the autistic kids
Yeah. Because cutting cookies out of your diet is SO effective at keeping you from getting airborne viruses. The levels of scientific ignorance on Newsvine are staggering.
I've come to the conclusion that Tracey here works for a big pharma company that makes flu vaccines......
I will repeat this again and again. People, DO NOT EVER get a flu shot. They are loaded with POISONS...as shep12 says, mercury aluminum, msg, and formaldehyde!!! Flu shots do NOT prevent flu. Don't fall for the insane false advertising of big pharma!
Tracy S....we are subjected to bacteria and viruses every day....get a clue...I am sure you do work for the drug companies or the fact that you think a flu shot is good for you.
Shep, I know the flu shot is good for me. Because I'm capable of understanding science and have a functioning intellect and low levels of paranoia. I've also heard stories from my grandparents about how many siblings they lost in 1918. (See...since my brain works well enough to study history, too.)
I am not saying for people not to get a flu shot, I have every year and have missed the flu except for 1966 when I got the Hong Kong flu. This year I got my flu shot 1st of Nov. I have had the flu two times--once a week after shot--not very bad. Then again this past week, been in the house for 4 days, just beginning to feel normal. What is the use of a shot when it doesn't work? What illnesses are out there that are not included in the shot, and should be?? Just sign me disgusted.
You probably had a bad cold, which the shot won't prevent.
actually every year since 1969 I get a vaccinated against Pink elephant attacks...
it must work...as I never been attacked by a pink elephant..