Flu Shot or Not?

by Christopher Arnett

Native Foods Cafe

Especially in vegan circles, the idea of vaccinations has been a controversial topic. Are they really necessary?  Do they do more harm than good?  In the winter season where sore throats and runny noses are rampant, who wouldn’t want added protection from the vile flu? Well, let’s take a look at some of the available information on the good ol’ interweb and see what we can find.

Native Foods Cafe, vegan food, vegan restaurant

First, some statistics: between 25 and 50 million people in the U.S. are infected with the flu every year. That’s a lot of flu. And last year, 36,000 people died from complications due to the flu virus. Every year it spreads in the U.S. from November to April, peaking between December and March. And as we all know, the flu is very contagious. It can cause real complications for people with preexisting respiratory conditions, like asthma. It is usually transmitted by droplets of saliva projected into the air by the sneeze of someone who is infected (yuck!). And since the virus can live in the air for three hours, a lot more people can catch it. Not to mention, touching anything touched by an infected person can easily spread it you.

Native Foods Cafe, vegan food, vegan restaurant

Some people may be afraid that they will catch the flu from a vaccine. However, this can’t happen since the only dead strains of the flu are used. The experts say may experience some muscle soreness, muscle aches, or fatigue after the first few days. But if you had the actual flu, the symptoms would be much worse. Getting the shot supposedly lowers your chance of getting infected, and lessens the severity of your symptoms if you do. Because the flu mutates every year into a different form, new vaccines are needed each year to fight the particular strain. Thus, we never build up immunity to it.

Native Foods Cafe, vegan food, vegan restaurant

On the flipside, opponents of the flu shot have a number of arguments against.  Some cite the fact that the pharmaceutical industry is multi-billion dollar industry whose primary goal is to earn revenue. Thus, there is a monetary incentive to promote the use and belief in flu vaccines. They caution consumers against the corporate-sponsored studies on the benefits of the corporation’s own products.

  Native Foods Cafe, vegan food, vegan restaurant

An interview was conducted with Dr. Viera Schneiber in a 2009 interview, a leading expert in vaccine medical data. Her investigations apparently bring to light the intentionally misleading information formulated by the vaccine industry. She cites numerous negative effects of vaccination. These include susceptibility to the disease which the vaccine is supposed to prevent, damaging internal organs like the pancreas, and host of harmful chemicals contained in the vaccine. Some of these chemicals include mercury and formaldehyde, which are known to be toxic. Some even reportedly contain animal by-products like horse blood. With flu shots, people can also on rare occasions develop a severe allergic reaction that affects the central nervous system called Guillan- Barré Syndrom. Yikes.

In the end, it us up to every individual to process the information available to them and make their own decision regarding vaccines for themselves and their dependents.  It can be a touchy subject, especially when sometimes you don’t know whom to believe. As for me, I never get a flu shot. Sure, I’ve gotten sick during an occasional winter, but nothing serious that I didn’t recover from by resting and sleeping and eating properly. The purpose of our immune systems is to keep our bodies healthy, and for now, that’s enough for me. Good luck out there!

 

 

 

 

Comments

[Dave]

BTW - the most relevant issue here about flu vaccines and veganism is the use of animal products such as egg. If this issue is a concern for people who are vegan there is spray vaccine version that uses mush less egg per dose.
http://www.veganchicago.com/boards/thread/7966129/

[Dave]

Oh shoot, looks like my original post got lost somehow. Bummer. That last BTW post meant to come after this one (pasted back in and reposted, sorry!)

Christopher,

Vaccines have been listed as one of the top ten great public health achievements by the CDC and it's a wonderful marvel of modern medicine. The insidious nature of this issue is that people who rely on herd immunity are most vulnerable. Heathy individuals who can weather the ravages of influenza can pass it on without even realizing it. Privilege can blind us to issues that can have a great effect on others. Much like people who eat animals in ignorance of their plight, so too we are susceptible to the same ignorance that privilege provides. We never had to worry about polio and smallpox and influenza for the most part, thanks to the many years of scientific innovation in the field of medicine. The flu shot is more than a personal decision, it can affect those around you.

That's all I really want to say about this vaccine issue. I've had the same argument over and over for the past few years when I gained an appreciation for science and I've learned it's not so much an issue or reason than an issue of critical thinking and emotion.

In our last exchange over GMOs, after providing evidence in defense of them, I realized that the underlying issue at hand was a struggle with critical thinking. Your response showed great promise that you yourself were willing to think critically about issue, keeping your mind open to where the science led. At the time, Vegan Chicago was working on a project to support our community in this area. At Chicago Vegan Mania 2011 we introduced a field guide to detecting "baloney" (aka critical thinking). http://www.veganchicago.com/pages/Baloney_Detection/ It is of utmost importance that vegans avoid the trappings of bad science and arguments for the lives of the millions at stake.

So instead of coming off as a contrarian crank every so often I would rather look less at the content of a post like this and focus instead of the sort of thinking that can entrap us.

You said: "Well, let’s take a look at some of the available information on the good ol’ interweb and see what we can find."

The internet makes finding bad information just as easy as finding good information. When we do this we should be especially on guard. A good source is especially import.

You said: "An interview was conducted with Dr. Viera Schneiber in a 2009 interview, a leading expert in vaccine medical data."

Thinking critically means we should rely on science. Good science avoid the mistakes one person can make by relying on a consensus of experts in the field. Dr. Viera Schneiber is not an expert in infectious disease, she is a retired micropaleontologist. "a leading expert in vaccine medical data." is simple weasel wording, it means nothing but sounds impressive. It's an attempt to lend credibility.
See: 60 Minutes on the impact of antivaccination lobbying: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=VJbc9Xw3yHc#!

You said: "In the end, it us up to every individual to process the information available to them and make their own decision regarding vaccines for themselves and their dependents. It can be a touchy subject, especially when sometimes you don’t know whom to believe."

I hear this a lot and on the surface it sounds reasonable but most people don't have the expertise to make these decisions. How does anybody know what to believe? Well that's what critical thinking is all about. Since we can't all be experts on everything we've built a great society through specialization. In issues of testing reality (science) we trust the consensus of experts. Since we don't necessarily have access to that consensus we must rely on a single expert who does. That means an authority who is qualified by a reputable science-based organization AKA a Doctor of Medicine (MD). Finding a good MD is probably the hardest part (just like finding a good mechanic or a good vegan dip au jus* ;) ).

So I implore you and your readers to continue your quest for an ethically-minded life. People who are vegan have their hearts in the rights place. Now we must have our minds follow.

Thanks for reading and all you do!

-Dave

Ok, here's one link to start on the vaccine issue by a credible science-based institution: http://www.cdc.gov/flu/protect/keyfacts.htm

*Native Foods has an awesome vegan chicago-style dip au jus BTW. :) OM NOM!

[Holladay- Native Foods]

Great post Dave. Thanks for the info.... wrapping my mind it around it slowly :)