Dr. Michael Owen, Chief Medical Officer
There have been some concerns that flu-shots have not been available within the past month as has normally been the case in some previous years.
At a press conference last week Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Dr. Michael Owen responded to the query confirming that no flu shots were ordered this year because the availability has not been accessed and the issue of free vaccines on a whole is somewhat complex.
“The issue about free Vaccines is an interesting one. We have put on offer free vaccination in the past routinely, and obviously that was a big push for H1N1 when it was around,” he said. “One of the difficulties is people don’t come and take it up and so we end up by getting lots of flu vaccine that’s available… there are the risk groups – asthmatics, you are over the age of sixty five and we wait for people to come, and they don’t!” he added.
The CMO also added that the Health Ministry is then faced with this decision to buy stuff that people don’t come and get; and then somebody will say, ‘but it wasn’t there when I wanted it,.’ “Do we buy stuff and people don’t use it and we waste money, or do we not buy it and then somebody says, ‘well you haven’t got it when we want it?’
He concluded, “…it seems to me that we do need some help from the public. If there are people who do want it then we are willing to get it. There is no point in our getting stuff if it’s not going to be used…sits on the shelves because things like flu vaccines literally have a limited life.”
He also informed that the flu vaccines is useful for the year in which it is intended to be used, after that you get a variation in the flu that’s going around. “But,” he added, “failure to take up the flu vaccine is not unique to Montserrat…”
Following that interview we discovered the following article, which we thought interesting: “Think Twice About Flu Shot”, from Newsmax Health.
Question: My employer is demanding that all employees get the flu shot. Do you recommend that I get it?
Dr. Brownstein’s Answer:
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention claims that 3,000 to 49,000 people die from the flu yearly. I say those numbers are hogwash. Only a few hundred people die yearly from the flu, and most of those people have complicated medical conditions.
Most flu vaccines are preserved with mercury. There is no excuse for injecting any living being with mercury. Furthermore, the flu vaccine is not very effective.
Every vaccine that you take causes inflammation of the brain. It is better to eat a healthy diet, keep vitamin D levels optimized, and supplement with vitamin C.
Some employers are mandating the flu vaccine even though the it has not been shown to be very effective at preventing the flu.
We don’t need our employers or Big Brother mandating that we be injected with a vaccine that is ineffective for the vast majority of people.
