More People Opting Out of Flu Vaccine in the United Kingdom
Last year, the flu vaccine in the United Kingdom was even more of a failure than in the U.S. In the U.K., during the 2014-15 flu season the flu vaccine was only 3% effective. The Conversation described this as “one bad year,” but even during a good year the effectiveness is usually around 50%, which means whether or not it will protect you amounts to the flip of a coin. So it’s no wonder that this year the U.K. is seeing low uptake of the vaccine—influenza vaccination rates are down 6% compared to last year. Vaccination rates are even low among groups considered to be most vulnerable to the flu, such as the elderly, children under 5 and…
New Law Aims to Expose Big Pharma Influence on Physicians
It is no secret that the medical field is heavily influenced by the pharmaceutical industry. For many decades, health care professionals and pharmaceutical companies have enjoyed cozy financial relationships. Pharmaceuticals continuously interact with medical doctors (MDs) and Doctors of Osteopathy (DOs), the two types of physicians who are licensed for prescribe…
A Wider Angle on Vaccines and Immunity
My husband and I indulged in a little prenatal uber-parenting when I was pregnant with our first child, and we interviewed several pediatricians known for being more sensible or holistic to see if we could find a good fit. One of the many questions we asked each doctor was about how they approached vaccination. The last physician responded by saying, “Well, there are…
Flu Shots Urged for Pregnant Women Despite Unknown Effects
The flu vaccine is widely recommended for pregnant women, despite a lack of adequate safety testing. It was around this time in 2014 that a study came out in the New England Journal of Medicine stating the flu vaccine provided partial protection against confirmed influenza in pregnant women and their infants. The media began touting headlines like “flu vaccine safe…
Flu Shots Rarely Work for People Over Age 65
For the 2014-2015 “flu season,” the reported effectiveness of the annual flu shot was only 14% in those over age 50. It has been long recognized that elderly people do not respond well to vaccination as a whole and that their immune responses to annual influenza vaccinations are especially weak. The elderly are at higher risk for serious complications from infections…
Jacobson v. Massachusetts: State Police Powers Affirmed
In its 1905 precedent setting split decision in the case of Jacobson v. Massachusetts, the U.S. Supreme Court, by a 7-2 vote, ruled that state legislatures could use police powers to force a minority of dissenting citizens to use smallpox vaccine for what medical doctors and government officials judge to be the greater good of the majority. Those voting with the majority were…