[p2p-research] Does the Vaccine Matter? - The Atlantic (November 2009)

[Paul D. Fernhout]

This article in the Atlantic essentially says the flu vaccine is worthless 
as are antivirals for most people (some few may benefit):
   "Does the Vaccine Matter?"
   http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200911/brownlee-h1n1/2
"Whether this season’s swine flu turns out to be deadly or mild, most 
experts agree that it’s only a matter of time before we’re hit by a truly 
devastating flu pandemic—one that might kill more people worldwide than have 
died of the plague and aids combined. In the U.S., the main lines of defense 
are pharmaceutical—vaccines and antiviral drugs to limit the spread of flu 
and prevent people from dying from it. Yet now some flu experts are 
challenging the medical orthodoxy and arguing that for those most in need of 
protection, flu shots and antiviral drugs may provide little to none. So 
where does that leave us if a bad pandemic strikes? "

The article essentially outlines a process of group think and shunning of 
those who really do the science on this.

But, it also says, the terrible thing is the flu vaccine gives us a false 
sense of security and diverts attention from things that really work. From 
there:
"""
“Vaccines give us a false sense of security,” says Sumit Majumdar. “When you 
have a strategy that [everybody thinks] reduces death by 50 percent, it’s 
pretty hard to invest resources to come up with better remedies.” For 
instance, health departments in every state are responsible for submitting 
plans to the CDC for educating the public, in the event of a serious 
pandemic, about hand-washing and “social distancing” (voluntary quarantines, 
school closings, and even enforcement of mandatory quarantines to keep 
infected people in their homes). Putting these plans into action will 
require considerable coordination among government officials, the media, and 
health-care workers—and widespread buy-in from the public. Yet little 
discussion has appeared in the press to help people understand the measures 
they can take to best protect themselves during a flu outbreak—other than 
vaccination and antivirals.
   “Launched early enough and continued long enough, social distancing can 
blunt the impact of a pandemic,” says Howard Markel, a pediatrician and 
historian of medicine at the University of Michigan. Washing hands 
diligently, avoiding public places during an outbreak, and having a supply 
of canned goods and water on hand are sound defenses, he says. Such steps 
could be highly effective in helping to slow the spread of the virus. In 
Mexico, for instance, where the first swine flu cases were identified in 
March, the government launched an aggressive program to get people to wash 
their hands and exhorted those who were sick to stay home and effectively 
quarantine themselves. In the United Kingdom, the national health department 
is promoting a “buddy” program, encouraging citizens to find a friend or 
neighbor willing to deliver food and medicine so people who fall ill can 
stay home.
   In the U.S., by contrast, our reliance on vaccination may have the 
opposite effect: breeding feelings of invulnerability, and leading some 
people to ignore simple measures like better-than-normal hygiene, staying 
away from those who are sick, and staying home when they feel ill. Likewise, 
our encouragement of early treatment with antiviral drugs will likely lead 
many people to show up at the hospital at first sniffle. “There’s no worse 
place to go than the hospital during flu season,” says Majumdar. Those who 
don’t have the flu are more likely to catch it there, and those who do will 
spread it around, he says. “But we don’t tell people this.”
"""

No mention of Vitamin D though:
   http://www.vitamindcouncil.org

Personally, I think they underestimate the negative consequences of the flu 
shot, which they just gloss over as "a sore arm". For example, Dr. Mercola 
suggests the flu shot may contribute to Alzheimer's and other issues:
http://www.ehow.com/about_5232321_dr-mercola-flu-shot-information.html
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2008/11/01/why-flu-shots-for-kids-don-t-work.aspx

--Paul Fernhout
http://www.pdfernhout.net/