Swine flu’s been in the news a lot recently. If you haven’t heard of it before you must be living under a rock.

The vaccine for this flu is being rushed through and is scheduled to be ready in the fall. When the vaccine is ready priority will be given to vaccinate pregnant women, children, people with risk factors to make them more susceptible to the flu, health care workers, and young adults between the ages of 19 and 24 to get vaccinated first. The vaccine will consist of 2 shoots given 3 weeks apart. You will also be encouraged to get a regular flu shot. Children under 9 will get 4 shot total.

So what’s the big deal about swine flu? Let’s take a look at the history of the disease.

History

The first outbreak  took place in from 1918 to 1919. It was known at the time as the Spanish Influenza. It appeared in both pigs and humans. It’s still unclear whether the pigs got it first on spread it to humans or if it was the other way around. This virus was caused by a combination of related flu viruses. It is not the exact same virus that we see spreading today. This flu spread around the world quickly affecting a third of the global population. It killed 50 million people.

In 1976, it made another appearance on a military base in New Jersey when a solider at the Fort Dix base complained of flu-like symptoms. He died the following day. Other soldiers started coming down with the flu. As a response a mass vaccination program was started.  People lined up to get vaccinated. When the vaccine was linked to the surge in new cases of a rare autoimmune disorder called Guillain-Barré syndrome the vaccination program was abruptly halted.

There were minor outbreaks of the flu in the US in 1988 and 1998. In 2007, there was an outbreak to the disease in the Philippines.

The flu that is currently spreading throughout the global population seems to have started in Mexico. On June 11 WHO announced that swine flu was a global pandemic. On July 21, WHO announced that the swine flu had killed over 700 people worldwide. According to the CDC 36,000 people die every year from the flu in the US alone.

Compared to the normal flu this current round swine flu hasn’t had a very deadly effect on the world population. Still vaccines are being rushed through to cope with it.

The Vaccine

The vaccine for  swine flu is what I’m the most concerned about. I’ve never gotten a flu vaccine because I don’t want to expose myself to the chemicals contained in the vaccine. My concern about the swine flu vaccine is similar. Not only am I concerned about the possibility of the vaccine containing mercury, but I’m also concerned about the use of adjuvants in the new vaccines. An adjuvant is used to boost the potency of the vaccine.

An adjuvant that may be used in the vaccine is squalene. Squalene was put in the anthrax vaccine that was given to soldiers fighting in the Gulf War in the 1990’s. The chemical has been linked to Gulf War syndrome. Squalene confuses the immune system causing it to attack the nervous system. Rats injected with squalene experience paralysis in their hind legs. Being injected with this compound could cause terrible side effects.

My other concern is the use of aluminum in vaccines. Aluminum can affect brain tissue adding to the risk of getting Alzheimer’s disease. There is also the possibility of being exposed to a number of other dangerous materials when getting the vaccine.

Prevention

It may seem like the easiest thing to do is to go out and get a shot for swine flu. The possibilities of side effects from that vaccine might not make it the safest thing to do though. The best way to prevent yourself from coming down with swine flu is to make sure you’re healthy.

Eat good food. Eating a healthy balanced diet full of essential vitamins and minerals will keep your immune system strong. Cut down on sweet foods, alcohol intake and starches. All of these things will suppress the immune system.

Make sure you’re getting a good amount of vitamin D. Vitamin D helps boost your immune system. You can get your best source of vitamin D from the sun. You can also take a good quality ferment cod liver oil supplement.

Besides improving your diet you should:

• wash your hands regularly and keep them away from your face
• get enough rest
• exercise in moderation
• cut down on stress

Conclusion

With all the hype about swine flu it’s quite easy to get cut up in it. I think this outbreak of flu has been completely hyped up to help the drug companies make some extra money. That may not be true. I could just be way too suspicious. My hope is that you would do your own research about swine flu and the vaccine before deciding whether or not you’ll get vaccinated.

Photo by Olddanb

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