Do you have to get a flu shot?

I was talking to my relatively healthy, vibrant mother yesterday, and she said she wanted to ask me something. She rolled up her sleeve and showed me what, at first, I thought was a spider or tick bite. It turns out that it was a reaction to a flu shot. It was red, itchy, and raised.  And despite what her doctors may try to tell her, it was an allergic reaction.  It may be mild, but it still needs to be reported to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting system with the lot number. (Hold onto the info sheet you are given if you receive a vaccine. It has all the necessary information to report with.) If you have ANY sort of reaction, even if it is deemed "normal," please report it to the VAERS website.  You may save the life of a child or adult who is more sensitive to these vaccines.

 

 A little vaccine humor... though in some ways, not far from the truth.

I find it curious that my mother was encouraged to have the flu shot since she is a relatively healthy individual. Even in a conversation with a medical student who was getting her Ph.D. and doing extensive research on vaccination not too long ago, she stated that the flu shot is only recommended for the very old, very young, or immune-compromised individuals. Though I don't necessarily agree that anyone should be given the flu shot, my mother certainly does not fall into any of those groups. 

Personally, I have not seen much efficacy with the flu shot. It is up to my patients whether they choose to get it, but the shot does contain mercury, and most of my patients who get the flu shot seem to end up with the flu.  There are only a few predicted strains that it "protects" against every year and the hefty dose of toxins it comes with seem to do more harm than they're worth.  I prefer not to play Russian Roulette with my health.  If a healthy individual ends up with the flu, they were probably overdue for the rest anyway.  

Recently, however, I had a patient come in saying that the hospital she works for is requiring flu vaccines for all employees. Anyone who does not comply will get fired.  If you don't understand why this would be a violation of someone's rights, you might as well stop reading now.  Injecting hospital workers with the flu virus does not seem like a great way to protect the patients... it seems like a great way to expose those patients to more germs!  When one gets a flu shot, they are very likely to get sick as their body reacts to the vaccine. And when one is experiencing the flu, the fatigue is so extreme that getting out of bed isn't even an option. If the fatigue is not debilitating, you are probably experiencing a severe cold. So the likelihood that one would end up at work with the flu is minimal.

In any case, if your employer or school is pressuring you to get a vaccine you feel would be more detrimental to your health than helpful, in New Jersey, the only way you can get exempt is a medical or religious exemption. Technically, the religious exemption is based on belief but this law is often misinterpreted in an effort to manipulate people into getting vaccinated against their will. Therefore, the religious exemption form requires a signature from a clergy member. Don't worry. This site has lots of biblical references that can be used to get a religious exemption. As long as you follow a religion that is based on the Bible or Torah, there should be a verse that applies. There is also a lot of other helpful info on there. And if all else fails, I encourage you to contact an attorney. There is no reason that your rights should be violated in this manner. If you don't have the final say on what gets injected into your body, what's next??