by S. L. Baker
(NaturalNews) At the 105th International Conference of the American
Thoracic Society recently held in San Diego, researchers presented a study
showing that the flu vaccine � widely touted as a "must have" for children with
chronic illnesses � isn't effective in preventing influenza-related
hospitalizations in children, especially ones with asthma. But here's the most
damning evidence that flu shots aren't the safe, helpful vaccine the Centers for
Disease Control ( CDC) and other government agencies claim: the researchers also
found that children who get the
flu vaccine are more
at risk for hospitalization than their peers who do not get the vaccine.
Scientist Avni Joshi, M.D., of the
Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, told the meeting, "The concerns that
vaccination may be
associated with asthma
exacerbations have been disproved with multiple studies in the past, but the
vaccine's effectiveness has not been well-established. This study was aimed at
evaluating the effectiveness of the TIV (trivalent inactivated flu vaccine in
children overall, as well as the children with asthma, to prevent
influenza-related hospitalization."
Paradoxically, he then presented the results that appeared to show the vaccine
did cause health problems serious enough to result in children being admitted to
hospitals for care.
The children were harmed by
influenza vaccines
To see if the vaccine actually reduced the
number of hospitalizations for all children, especially those with asthma, over
eight consecutive flu seasons, Dr. Joshi and his research team conducted a
cohort study of 263 children. All the youngsters had been evaluated at the Mayo
Clinic in Minnesota between the ages of six months to 18 years and each had had
laboratory-confirmed flu between 1996 to 2006. The scientists documented which
of the children had been vaccinated against
the flu, and those that
had not received the flu jab. The kids' asthma status was also noted along with
records of and who did and did not require hospitalization.
Then the investigators checked the records for each child research subject to
see who had been vaccinated before experiencing a flu-related episode that lead
to a hospitalization during that illness. The results showed that
youngsters who had received the flu vaccine had three times the risk of
hospitalization, as compared to children who had not received the vaccine.
For kids with asthma, there was even a higher risk of hospitalization in
subjects who received the flu
shot. No other measured factors, which included insurance coverage or
severity of asthma, was found to impact the risk of hospitalization.
So does this raise a red flag against vaccinating children, especially those who
are asthmatic, against the flu? Incredibly, despite the findings of his own
study, Dr. Joshi refused to find fault with the flu shot. "While these findings
do raise questions about the efficacy of the vaccine, they do not in fact
implicate it as a cause of hospitalizations," Dr. Joshi said in a statement to
the media. "More studies are needed to assess not only the immunogenicity, but
also the efficacy of different influenza vaccines in asthmatic subjects."
The CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) and the American
Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) continue to recommend annual influenza vaccination
for all children aged six months to 18 years. Moreover, the National Asthma
Education and Prevention Program (3rd revision) pushes annual flu vaccination of
asthmatic children older than six months. However, as reported last fall in
Natural News (http://www.naturalnews.com/024624.html)
there's little evidence flu
shots work for youngsters. . A large study reported in the Cochrane Database
of Systematic Reviews of 260,000 children between 23 month and six discovered
that the flu vaccine is no more effective that a placebo.
for more information :
http://www.thoracic.org/sections/pu...
http://www.naturalnews.com/026271.html
http://www.naturalnews.com/z026612_asthma_the_flu_flu_shots.html