How Serious is the Flu?
The flu can be extremely uncomfortable, but most cases do not pose and life threatening consequences. For the majority of cases the worst symptoms include vomiting, body aches, fever, congestion, and cough.
Severe cases occur when a person suffers complications that require hospitalization, such as dehydration or pneumonia.
Possible Treatments
Most cases can be treated at home, naturally. However, it can be extremely uncomfortable, so anti-nausea meds, Ibuprofen, OTC cough and cold meds may be used. In more serious cases, IVs may be required for dehydration and/or antibiotics if it evolves into pneumonia.
Is the Flu Common?
Yes, very. It is by far the most common illness that we have a vaccine for, but most cases pass without consequences.
2022-2023 Flu Stats
31 million cases
(~9% chance of getting the flu)
360,000 hospitalizations
(~0.12% chance of hospitalization)
21,000 deaths
(~0.0063% chance of death)
Source: CDC
Two Types of Flu Vaccines
There are two types of flu vaccines: a live virus nasal spray and a killed-virus injection. Most people get the injection, although the spray can be used for people aged 2-49.
Many studies show the spray is more effective when it comes to children. But others show them both equally effective. However, there is a higher risk of developing flu-like symptoms, and a person is considered slightly contagious with the virus for about three weeks after the nasal vaccine - although the spread risk is still very low.
Mercury in the Flu Vaccine
Mercury is one of the main concerns parents have when it comes to the flu vaccine. However, most vaccine manufactures have stopped using thimerosal (an ethyl mercury-based preservative). The only vaccine that still includes thimerosal is the multi-dose inactivated influenza vaccine.
Thimerosal is used in vials that contain more than one dose (multi-dose) in order to prevent germs, bacteria, and fungi contamination.
Why Some Get the Flu Vaccine
Many higher risk groups such as the elderly and those with chronic medical conditions feel most comfortable doing all they can to protect themselves from the Flu. Children in the first two years of life are also at a slightly higher risk than older kids and healthy adults.
Healthy people who live with someone in a high risk group, many times, feel more comfortable getting vaccinated so the high-risk family member is less likely to catch the illness.
Others choose to get vaccinated because they don't want/can't afford to take off work in the case that they do come down with the flu.
The pediatric death rate is extremely low (0.000031% chance of a pediatric death), however the majority of pediatric deaths are unvaccinated - and many parents are not comfortable with the chance.
103 pediatric deaths during the 2023-2024 season
Vaccination status was known for 89 of the cases
88% of those cases were unvaccinated.
^ source (3)
Why Some Don’t Get the Flu Vaccine
Some parents are reluctant to give their young children, and themselves, a flu shot because of the high incidence of flu-like symptoms. although usually mild.
While extremely rare, many are concerned about the risk of febrile seizures. Some studies have detected a small increase of febrile seizures in young children, especially aged 12 months - 23 months, and particularly when the flu vaccine was given at the same time as the pneumococcal conjugate (PCV13) and DTaP vaccine (1,2).
New strains appear frequently, so the seasonal flu vaccine typically changes every year as scientists determine how the virus has mutated and spread. Because of this, the flu viruses used in the vaccine might not match the ones circulating during the current flu season.
The number of pediatric deaths from the flu each year is very low.
103 pediatric deaths during 2023-2024 season (3)
0.000031% chance of a pediatric death
5 deaths in children under 6 months
38 deaths in children under 5 years
65 deaths in children 5-17 years
46 deaths had pre-existing medical conditions
While these deaths are tragic, some parents view the risk low enough for them to decline the shot.
Many pregnant women decline the shot due to its lack of safety research and chemical content, mainly thimerosal, formaldehyde, and polysorbate 80. The flu shot has more chemicals than most shots, and exposing these chemicals to infants and pregnant women worries some.
Detoxing Vaccines with Liposomal Vitamin C
Vitamin C has strong antitoxin properties. It can even neutralize the toxic nature of mercury (NIH), which could be especially beneficial paired with mercury containing vaccines, like the Flu shot.
According to Dr. Thomas E. Levy, "Vitamin C has been documented to augment the antibody response of the immune system. As the goal of any vaccination is to stimulate a maximal antibody response to the antigens of the vaccine while causing minimal to no toxic damage to the most sensitive of vaccine recipients, there would appear to be no medically sound reason not to make Vitamin C a part of all vaccination protocols (4)."
A review of the world literature on Vitamin C and vaccine reactions in animals showed that supplementing with Vitamin C has a protective effect (5). Research has also shown that Vitamin C reduces the morbidity and the mortality following injection of bacterial and toxins in guinea pigs, rats, and mice.
A 2017 study showed that Vitamin C supplementation improved the efficacy of foot-and-mouth disease vaccine in guinea pigs (6).
Studies of aborigines in Australia by Kalokerinos have also reported on the highly protective effects of Vitamin C in children (7).
Mix 1/2 to 1 tsp (1 tsp = 1,000 mg) in juice, water, formula, milk, etc. for 7 days BEFORE vaccine, and 7 days AFTER vaccine. Reduce dosage if diarrhea occurs.
Liquid for adults (can also use for kids)
Detoxing Vaccines with Bentonite Clay & Epsom Salt
After receiving a vaccine you can do what's called "mudding" the injection site and the tops and bottoms of feet. All you need is Bentonite Clay and Medi-Mineral Serum. (Or if you just have Bentonite Clay and don't want to get the serum, that's better than nothing). Mix a few TBSP of the clay with a few tsp of the serum (or water if not using serum) to make a paste. Apply on the injection site and tops and bottoms of feet. Leave for 20-30 minutes (you can wrap with plastic wrap to make cleanup easier). Do this 1x/day for 3 days after receiving vaccine.
Soak in a bath with 1/2-1 c of Epsom salt for 10 minutes to help sulfur levels in the body to increase detoxification process (day of vaccine, and 3-4 days after). Be mindful of how long you stay in as too much epsom salt can cause fatigue.
Other Options to Consider
Request a thimerosal-free (mercury) brand
If giving to a child, consider giving it as an isolated vaccine
Sources:
The Vaccine Book
Robert W. Sears, MD, FAAP
1 Tse A, Tseng HF, Greene SK, Vellozzi C, Lee GM; VSD Rapid Cycle Analysis Influenza Working Group. Signal identification and evaluation for risk of febrile seizures in children following trivalent inactivated influenza vaccine in the Vaccine Safety Datalink Project, 2010-2011. Vaccine. 2012 Mar 2;30(11):2024-31. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2012.01.027. PMID: 22361304.
2 Duffy J, Weintraub E, Hambidge SJ, Jackson LA, Kharbanda EO, Klein NP, Lee GM, Marcy SM, Nakasato CC, Naleway A, Omer SB, Vellozzi C, DeStefano F; Vaccine Safety Datalink. Febrile Seizure Risk After Vaccination in Children 6 to 23 Months. Pediatrics. 2016 Jul;138(1):e20160320. doi: 10.1542/peds.2016-0320. Epub 2016 Jun 6. PMID: 27273711; PMCID: PMC6503849.
4 Levy, T. E. "Vitamin C Prevents Vaccination Side Effects; Increases Effectiveness." Orthomolecular Medicine News Service (Feb 14, 2012): http://orthomolecular.org/resources/omns/v08n07.shtml
5 Clemetson CAB. Vaccinations, inoculations, and ascorbic acid. J
Orthomolecular Med 1999; 14:137-142
6 Minsheng Wu, Meina He & Youmin Kang (2018) Vitamin C supplementation improved the efficacy of foot-and-mouth disease vaccine, Food and Agricultural Immunology, 29:1, 470-483, DOI: 10.1080/09540105.2017.1406459
7 Kalokerinos A. Medical Pioneer of the 20th Century. Melbourne,
Victoria, Australia: Biological Therapies Publishing Pty Ltd; 2000.
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