Daily Archives: October 25, 2013

What to say when pressured to get the flu shot

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HappyA text message conversation prompted me to think of more answers to the question “Why didn’t you get a flu shot?”

My mom lives in a retirement community that offers annual flu shots. They have someone come out every year to administer them for the convenience of the residents. I made sure my mom was fully informed as to WHY she did NOT want to get one, but then she was worried about what she was going to say!

My Mom’s message: 
Hi!! O.K.– so yesterday I didn’t show up where they were giving flu shots. Now — what am I supposed to say when I run into a person of authority and he asks me ‘why’! ‘My daughter told me not to’ sounds pretty weak!! Love you!! Mom
 
My response:
We’ll done! I’m soooooooo proud of you!! I’ll send you some links with info. 
 
Other possible answers: “Someone who loves me a lot has researched it extensively and told me there is too much mercury in the shot. They don’t want me to suffer from mercury poisoning. “
 
Or, “Many people have acquired GBS (Guillain-Barre syndrome) from the flu shot which is extremely debilitating.” 
 
Or, “I’m going to stay healthy this winter with Vitamin D3.”
 
Or, “Flu shots make me sick.”
 
Or, “If I got a flu shot my daughter might have a nervous breakdown!”
 
And you could add, “But if I get sick, I will send for my daughter and quarantine myself!” 
 
You could also say, “Have you read what is in those shots?”
 
“Have you read the contraindications?”
 
“I don’t think my husband would want me to get this one!” (My mom is a widow. My dad was an MD)

There are many approaches to take.  I like to follow the Biblical patterns of communication and figure out how I can apply them in my life. I confess I don’t always get it right, but here are two principles:

  1. “a soft answer turns away wrath”
  2. Questions, when asked politely, usually give you the upper hand.

Here are more examples of strong questions in response to the question “Why don’t you get flu shots?” or when you are experiencing pressure to agree to a flu shot:

“What do you know about the contra-indications – that is, the people who shouldn’t get flu shots”?

“Did you know you can find the vaccine package insert from the FDA for every shot? The vaccine package insert is provided by the manufacturers lists all the ingredients, the contraindications, and the side effects. It also states that some categories of people should not get flu shots. Have you read it?”

“Do you know how effective the flu shot is expected to be for this flu season? Some years it’s been as low as 15% accurate.”

“Do you know what they make flu shots from? Did you know they’ve been experimenting with growing the flu virus in different mediums? Do you know the other ingredients in a flu shot, like mercury which is in the multi dose vials?”

“Do you know what mercury does to your brain and why the FDA limits the amount in ingestible foods to well below the amount they want to put into a person’s body with a needle?”

“Did you know that some vaccines (not flu shots) are developed using aborted human fetal tissue?”

When you think about it, most people who think the flu shot is a good idea really believe that it is good. They have been influenced by the vast amount of money spent on marketing by those who would benefit from flu shot sales. They haven’t been exposed to the research and facts that show the flu shot is overrated and possibly very dangerous. Most doctors are “educated” by the drug reps who want to sell more drugs, or by the CDC who has a dodgy record regarding accurately communicating vaccine safety studies (see #CDCwhistleblower).

You can read what I shared with my mother here. It was prompted by our text conversation.

How about you, what is your best response to those who try to influence you to get a flu shot?

Information on the flu shot for my mother

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(and others like her)

Image - Version 2

My mom is 79 years young.  She was married to my dad, a medical virologist, for 45 years before his death in 2003.  She made a bold decision to skip the flu vaccine this year but wanted some information to help her explain her decision to those who are encouraging everyone to get a flu shot.

Dear Mom,  I care a lot about you.  I want you to enjoy good health for as long as you live.  I wish we could live closer so that we could spend more time together.  I would love to stop over every week for a regular date.

Since that is not our current reality, I thought I would share some really important information on the flu shot.  If I were closer I would be able to give this information bit by bit.  But I’ve been collecting credible sources of information on the flu and flu shot and want to share some of the best.  It’s hard to say how many hours of research I have done, but I feel like I am getting close to having at least a Bachelor’s Degree in vaccine information!

Firstly, Something VERY IMPORTANT: Compensation for Vaccine Injury

Something really important to consider in this whole debate is that if you do get a flu shot (or any vaccine), the manufacturer is not liable to pay for any damages or injury it might cause.  If you get GBS and are paralyzed (nurses and doctors see this condition frequently in emergency rooms and one of the first questions they ask is, have you recently got a flu shot?) or if you need extensive medical treatment for any injury, there is no recourse with the pharmaceutical company.  There is a process where you can make a claim to the government Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP), but only about 2% of all injuries are reported and only about 25% of all claims considered receive any compensation. There has been $2.6 Billion (update as of 11/2018 $4 Billion) paid out to 3000 claimants since this system began, and a large percentage of the claims have been paid out for flu vaccine injury.

Video 1:  “You need to become vaccine educated.”  Barbara Loe Fisher

This video is a great place to start.  It is a 20 minute explanation by Barbara Loe Fisher.  [She is introduced by Dr Mercola whom you might not like, but keep watching because after his introduction, he doesn’t say anything else.] She started the NVIC (National Vaccine Information Center) almost 30 years ago after her son was injured by vaccines.  She is a very calm rational voice and in this video she explains the current flu shot options (in 2013 there are 12 different flu vaccines made by 7 companies), how to find out what is in each one, and what the contraindications for each one are.  She recommends that if you are thinking about getting a flu shot, the very least you should do is get the information sheet on it and read it thoroughly in advance.

Video 2: Think Twice

This is a short video (<9 minutes) with many facts and figures on the flu, how the flu vaccine is made, all the ingredients, some possible reactions to the flu vaccine, the effectiveness of the flu vaccine in all age groups, and other ways to protect against the flu.

Video 3: Dr John Bergman, Chiropractor in California

Dr Bergman has very strong views and has a hard time not being passionate about his views.  I can relate completely!  So, this is a warning, don’t watch the next video unless you are ready to hear someone who has a very strong negative opinion about the flu shot! He claims 0% effectiveness in elderly.  He lists some of the suspect ingredients in many flu shots – like aborted human fetal tissue and other toxic substances and have been shown to cause cancer. I think most of the elderly people I know would not be too excited about that.

Video 4: Dr Sherri Tenpenny

I’ve saved the best for last!  In this calm video explanation, Dr Sherri Tenpenny uses a lot of statistics from the CDC itself.  She also describes what is the flu, what is the flu shot, what is in the flu vaccine, what the scientific research says regarding the effectiveness of the flu shot, and what can you do to treat and prevent the flu. This is a very worthwhile watch, it will take about 50 minutes.  So, fix a cup of tea, relax and listen.

If you don’t have time, bottom line, the flu shot doesn’t even significantly prevent flu!  “In the Cochrane study done in 2006 which was a review of 48 reports including more than 66,000 adults, “Vaccination of healthy adults only reduced risk of influenza by 6% and reduced the number of missed work days by less than one day (0.16) days. It did not change the number of people needing to go to hospital or take time off work.” Reference: “Vaccines for preventing influenza in healthy adults.” The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 1 (2006)

I’ll stop with that for now.  I think I will write another blog post that might give you some insight on “What to say when pressured to get the flu shot“.

12Author: Becky Hastings, wife, mother, grandmother, passionate follower of Jesus Christ and truth seeker, especially in the areas of health and children. Facing a world quite different from the one in which I grew up, I seek to research and understand the true route to health, freedom and joyful family living!