On March 12th, 2020, Anderson Cooper and
Dr. Sanjay Gupta held a global town hall on “Corona Facts and Fears.” During
the discussion, Anderson encouraged the audience to get a flu shot, suggesting
that it may help with the coronavirus. Is this true?
Greg. G Wolff, an
Epidemiologist with the Armed Forces Health Surveillance Branch recently published a study in
the Journal Vaccine titled, Influenza vaccination and respiratory virus
interference among Department of Defense personnel during the 2017–2018
influenza season. The study examined virus
interference in a Department of Defense population, this refers to the
increased risk of other respiratory viruses as a result of, in this case, the
influenza vaccine. The study
found that virus interference varied among vaccinated individuals for
individual respiratory viruses, and found that for coronavirus in particular,
in this study, those who had been vaccinated with the flu vaccine had a 36 percent higher risk of contracting it
The study compared the
vaccination status of more than two thousand people with non-influenza
respiratory viruses to more than three thousand people with pan-negative
results. The vaccination status of more than three thousand cases of influenza
were compared to three different control groups, and appropriate adjustments
were made.
The study points out that
recently published studies have “described the phenomenon of vaccine-associated
virus interference; that is, vaccinated individuals may be at increased risk
for other respiratory viruses because they do not receive the non-specific
immunity associated with natural infection.” It goes on to emphasize that
“There has been limited evidence that the influenza vaccine may actually be
associated with the virus interference process. Other studies have found no
association between influenza vaccination and increased respiratory virus
risk.”
So, it’s important to mention
that other studies have found no association between the flu vaccine and an
increased risk for other respiratory viruses, but when looking specifically at
coronavirus, Wolff’s study found that “Vaccine derived virus interference was
significantly associated with coronavirus and human metapneumovirus;
however, significant protection with vaccination was associated not only with
most influenza viruses, but also parainfluenza, RSV, and non-influenza virus
coinfections.”
Metapneumovirus causes both
upper and lower respiratory disease in all ages.
It’s also important to
mention that out of the 6120 people in the study with respiratory viruses other
than influenza, those who received an influenza vaccine actually had a
decreased risk of having other respiratory pathogens compared to the
unvaccinated group. Again, it’s important to be specific with what respiratory
pathogens one may have an increased risk of contracting as a result of being
vaccinated against influenza. This is why for some pathogens, no increased risk
was observed, and in some cases a decreased risk was observed. But again, specifically
for coronavirus, a significant increased risk was observed.
When it comes to coronavirus
and human metapneumovirus, the data in this study showed an increased
risk of contraction within vaccinated individuals to be 36 percent greater.
The laboratory data in our
study showed increased odds of coronavirus and human metapneumovirus in
individuals receiving influenza vaccination…In our disease specific
investigation, virus interference trends were noticed for coronavirus and human
metapneumovirus…Examining non-influenza viruses specifically, the odds of both
coronavirus and human metapneumovirus in vaccinated individuals were significantly higher when
compared to unvaccinated individuals (OR = 1.36 and 1.51, respectively)
The study concluded that:
Receipt of influenza
vaccination was not associated with virus interference among our population.
Examining virus interference by specific respiratory viruses showed mixed
results. Vaccine derived virus interference was significantly associated with
coronavirus and human metapneumovirus; however, significant protection with
vaccination was associated not only with most influenza viruses, but also
parainfluenza, RSV, and non-influenza virus coinfections.
But overall, the results
showed “little to no evidence supporting the association of virus interference
and influenza vaccination.”
When it comes to children,
a study published in
the same journal, Vaccine, found
that“Among children there was an increase in the hazard of ARI (acute
respiratory illness) caused by non-influenza respiratory pathogens
post-influenza vaccination compared to unvaccinated children during the same
period…Patient perceptions of illness following influenza vaccination may be
supported.”
The Department of Defense has
a Global Respiratory Pathogen Surveillance Program (DoDGRS), it’s a DoD-wide
program established by the Global Emerging Infections Surveillance and Response
System (GEIS). This is how Wolff was able to gather all of his data with
regards to who had been vaccinated with the influenza virus, and what other
illnesses they experienced. The Defense Health Agency/Armed Forces Health
Surveillance Branch – Air Force Satellite Cell (DHA/AFHSB – AF) and United
States Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine (USAFSAM) also provided access to
the data.
Further Thoughts About Flu
Vaccination
According to the study above,
“significant protection with vaccination was associated not only with most
influenza viruses, but also parainfluenza, RSV, and non-influenza virus
coinfections.” So, it does point out the benefits of influenza and suggests
it’s effective. It also sites multiple studies that show it’s effective as
well.
But there is conflicting
research when it comes to the flu vaccine and its effectiveness against
influenza. For example, Dr. Peter Doshi is an associate editor at The BMJ (British Medical
Journal) and also an assistant professor of pharmaceutical
health services research at the University of Maryland School of
Pharmacy, published a paper in The BMJ titled “Influenza: Marketing Vaccines
By Marketing Disease.” In it, he points out that
the CDC pledges “to base all public health decisions on the highest quality of
scientific data, openly and objectively derived,” and how this isn’t the case
when it comes to the flu vaccine and its marketing. He stresses that “the vaccine
may be less beneficial and less safe than has been claimed, and that “the
threat of influenza seems to be overstated.”
He goes on to state:
But perhaps the cleverest
aspect of the influenza marketing strategy surrounds the claim that “flu” and
“influenza” are the same. The distinction seems subtle, and purely semantic.
But general lack of awareness of the difference might be the primary reason few
people realize that even the ideal influenza vaccine, matched perfectly to
circulating strains of wild influenza and capable of stopping all influenza
viruses, can only deal with a small part of the “flu” problem because most
“flu” appears to have nothing to do with influenza. Every year, hundreds of
thousands of respiratory specimens are tested across the US. Of those tested,
on average 16% are found to be influenza positive. (fig 2).⇓ All
influenza is “flu,” but only one in six “flus” might be influenza. It’s no
wonder so many people feel that “flu shots” don’t work: for most flus, they
can’t.
Dr. Alvin Moss, MD and
professor at the West Virginia University School of Medicine emphasizes in this video:
The flu vaccine happens to be
the vaccine that causes the most injury in this country. The vaccine injury
compensation program, 40 percent of all vaccinations in this country are flu
shots, but 60 percent of all the compensations are for the flu vaccine. So a
disproportionate number of vaccine related injuries are the flu shot. I
think many of you it’s been recommended to you that you get the flu shot, I
don’t know if you’re aware of the fact, the CDC statistics are, that every year
they look at vaccine effectiveness, for this particular year the vaccine
effectiveness is 48 percent, so that means it’s not highly effective. It’s not
even all that effective, if you look at the scientific literature…the evidence
to support giving the flu vaccine is moderate to weak. It is not strong
evidence. They say the evidence to support giving the flu vaccine to people
over the age of 65 is not there, it’s inconclusive. So a lot of the things
we’ve been told as Americans about vaccinations are not really based on the science.
(source)
The National Childhood
Vaccine Injury (NCVIA) has already paid out approximately $4 billion to
compensate families of vaccine injured children. As astronomical as the
monetary awards are, they’re even more alarming considering HHS claims that
only an estimated 1% of vaccine injuries
are even reported to the Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting
System (VAERS).
Something to think about. The information in this article shows that’s
it’s ok to question, and that the science on vaccine safety is not ‘settled.’
We must ask ourselves, why are there terms like ‘anti-vax’ and why does big media
constantly try to ridicule any information that paints vaccines in a concerning
light? Surely the questioning of vaccine safety is in the best interest of all
parties involved?
At the end of the day, it’s not about who is right and who is wrong,
and it’s not about one side or the other. It’s about coming together in a
peaceful manner and understanding the concerns that are being raised, and
dealing with them, addressing, and responding to them appropriately. We cannot
hold hate in our own being if we want to rid the world of it, and we cannot use
ridicule and judgement against, otherwise we are simply perpetuating what we
are trying to get rid of. Operating from a place of peace is essential, it
helps to see things in a clearer way, and it’s something that needs to become a
necessity for all parties involved, whether you support vaccination or do not.
Reprinted with permission
from Collective Evolution.
Copyright © Collective Evolution
