The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention urges Americans over the age of six months to get an annual flu shot. Their pleas are combined with dire warnings of risking hospitalization and death for those who skip the shot. But are the warnings over-inflated?
On their own website, the CDC states that flu deaths between 1976 and 2006 ranged from a low of 3,000 people to a high of 49,000. But they also reported on their website that only 500 people died from flu in 2010. “The fact is, the outrageous claims of 3,000 to 49,000 deaths are inaccurate numbers,” says holistic family physician Dr. David Brownstein. “They are just guesswork.”
The CDC itself admits it doesn’t know how many people die from flu each year, and that their figures are estimates. How does the CDC get such over-inflated flu death numbers?
“The CDC lumps pneumonia with the flu to make their numbers look better,” Dr. Brownstein tells Newsmax Health. “It is an estimated number that includes people who also die from pneumonia, and the flu vaccine has never been shown to protect against getting pneumonia,” he says.
Why does the CDC keep reporting inflated numbers?
“The CDC needs to keep Big Pharma happy, because that’s what really controls health care,” says Dr. Brownstein. “So, the CDC perpetuates the myth that everyone needs a flu shot. The CDC can say they’re doing their job, Big Pharma can sell more shots, and everyone is happy.”
So, hospitals, doctors, pharmacies and other health-related organizations and health personnel relentlessly push vaccination. Dr. Brownstein says he himself was a victim of a local hospital’s push to get more people vaccinated. “A large hospital system sent out a letter with my name at the bottom which states that I am recommending the flu vaccine,” he said. He only found out when a patient, doubting that Dr. Brownstein had endorsed the vaccine, sent him a copy of the letter.
“Of course I never recommended this vaccine,” he said. “I called the hospital that sent this out and demanded a retraction be sent to all who received it.
“In addition, the letter said flu kills 25,000 to 30,000 people each year,” said Dr. Brownstein. “That’s simply not true.”
On the other hand, says Dr. Brownstein, few side effects of the flu shot are reported to the FDA. “Again, they don’t want Big Pharma to get upset,” he says.
“I suggest the CDC stop exaggerating and start reporting the true numbers,” says Dr. Brownstein. “The truth is that influenza annually kills a few hundred Americans. Of course, each death is tragic, but does anyone really believe that vaccinating 350 million Americans is going to drastically alter a few hundred Americans dying each year from the flu?
“I seriously doubt that, particularly when the flu vaccine has never been shown to significantly decrease the incidence of the flu,” he says. “Furthermore, the flu vaccine has never been shown to lower the death rate from from the flu.
“Each year the CDC trots out their inaccurate numbers,” he says. “If they told the truth, the flu vaccine would become a thing of the past.
“The flu vaccine is a waste of time and money.”
For the original article, visit newsmaxhealth.com.
