If you have already received the Fluzone vaccine for seniors this year and think you are safe from the flu, think again! Even if that were true there are dangers you don't want to participate in and the following will tell you about them, just in case you have or should become afflicted with unexplainable health issues. Don't expect your doctor to be up on these facts as most of them never read the notices they receive - I worked 20+ years for many doctors and out of the fifty or so I knew - only two actually noticed or open the pages of their New England Journal Of Medicine (NIJM). Sadly, Fluzone is being touted as safe and effective when the opposite is true and the following will explain those dangers!

Dr. Joseph Mercola Wrties: "Fluzone High-Dose" is a new influenza vaccine manufactured by Sanofi Pasteur. The new vaccine was created specifically for seniors, 65 and older.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are quick to reassure seniors that Fluzone is just as safe as regular seasonal flu vaccines. If you read the details on the CDC website, however, you will quickly realize that Fluzone may not be as safe as claimed. .

Fluzone appears to cause a lot more side effects, including fevers According to the CDC as stated;

"The safety profile of Fluzone High-Dose vaccine is similar to that of regular flu vaccines, although adverse events (which are also reported after regular flu vaccines) were reported more frequently after vaccination with Fluzone High-Dose.

The most common adverse events experienced during clinical studies were mild and temporary and included pain, redness and swelling at the injection site and headache, muscle aches, fever and malaise."

Why do Seniors Get a Higher Dose Vaccine?

One of the primary differences between the 'regular' Fluzone vaccine and Fluzone High-Dose for seniors is that the latter contains four times as much microbial antigen—the lab altered flu viruses - that prompt your body to produce antibodies to the three different influenza strains contained in the flu vaccine.

The idea is that seniors need more antigen in order to provoke the desired immune response, because studies have found that the flu vaccine creates only a weak immune response in the elderly. In essence, they've realized that the flu vaccine does not work in the elderly, and the belief is that upping the dose will do the trick.  Dangerous idea!

However, if you read the package insert, it will clearly tell you that there is absolutely no evidence backing up this theory… It states:

"Data from clinical trials comparing Fluzone to Fluzone High-Dose among persons aged 65 years or older indicate that a stronger immune response (i.e. higher antibody levels) occurs after vaccination with Fluzone High-Dose.

Whether or not the improved immune response leads to greater protection against influenza disease after vaccination is not yet known. An ongoing study designed to determine the effectiveness of Fluzone High-Dose in preventing illness from influenza compared to Fluzone is expected to be completed in 2014-2015."

What this means is that for the next four years or so, seniors receiving this much more potent dose of the flu vaccine are participating in what amounts to an uncontrolled experiment. There is already admission that nobody knows whether it will actually prevent seniors from getting the flu or not!

High-Dose Flu Vaccine has Higher Rates of Serious Adverse Events

According to the manufacturer's safety studies, compared to the regular Fluzone vaccine the high-dose version not only resulted in more frequent reports of common adverse reactions, it also caused slightly higher rates of Serious Adverse Events (SAE's).

 According to the package insert, the SAE's reported during the post-approval use of the vaccine include:

Shocking LACK of Evidence Supporting Flu Vaccines

While the annual flu vaccine is touted as the "best" way to avoid catching the seasonal flu, what many fail to realize is that there's virtually NO good scientific evidence to support it. Again and again, the Cochrane Database Review—which is the gold standard for assessing the scientific evidence for the effectiveness of commonly used medical interventions—has concluded that flu vaccines do not appear to have any measurable benefit either for children, adults, or seniors.

Cochrane Database Reviews, published between 2006 and 2010, which call into serious question the claim that flu shots are the best way to stay healthy during the flu season. 2010 review;  Cochrane reviewed the available scientific evidence that flu shots protect the elderly, and the results were abysmal. The authors concluded that:

“The available evidence is of poor quality and provides no guidance regarding the safety, efficacy or effectiveness of influenza vaccines for people aged 65 years or older.”

 Be safe be smart strengthen your immune system and not worry about the flu or other illnesses!