Did you know that when a person receives the “FluMist” flu vaccine that anyone around them becomes exposed to the flu as the recipient “sheds” the viruses contained within the vaccine? With all of the propaganda about how you MUST be vaccinated [2] in order to protect those around you, you’d think that they would warn people who receive this vaccine that they’ve just become the most contagious person in the room, particularly if the person has been browbeaten into receiving the vaccine to “protect” a loved one with a lowered immune system.
The CDC says that it is possible, but rare, for those in contact with someone who has received the Flu Mist vaccine to pass the virus on to others.
Data indicate that both children and adults vaccinated with nasal spray can shed vaccine viruses after vaccination, although in lower amounts than occur typically with shedding of wild-type influenza viruses. Rarely, shed vaccine viruses can be transmitted from vaccine recipients to unvaccinated persons. (source)
Even though it’s clearly not a big deal, based on their vague admission, the CDC still warns that those who have loved ones with serious immune issues should not be vaccinated with Flu Mist, but if the loved ones only have mild immune issues, it’s all good.
People who are in contact with others with severely weakened immune systems when they are being cared for in a protective environment (for example, people with hematopoietic stem cell transplants), should not get the nasal spray vaccine. People who have contact with people with weakened (but not severely weakened) immune systems due to underlying illness (e.g. diabetes, asthma, and heart disease, can get the nasal spray vaccine. (source)
MedImmune, the makers of FluMist are well aware of the risk of passing on the flu. On the package insert, the manufacturer warns:
“FluMist® recipients should avoid close contact with immunocompromised individuals for at least 21 days.”
You can visit MedImmune’s FluMist propaganda site HERE [3] for more (dis)information.
The main “benefits” to receiving a squirt of illness up your nose are that you can avoid the dreaded needle and that those with egg allergies can receive it. A recipient will avoid the sore arm, but may get to enjoy these delightful side effects from the nasal vaccine.
In children, side effects can include runny nose, headache, wheezing, vomiting, muscle aches, and fever. In adults, side effects can include runny nose, headache, sore throat, and cough. Fever is not a common side effect in adults receiving the nasal spray flu vaccine. (source)
Interestingly, those listed side effects are the very symptoms one is trying to avoid by getting the vaccine in the first place. Each and every one is a flu symptom. Huh. So the point of that vaccines was……..avoiding those?
Here’s How the Vaccine Makes You Contagious
But there’s still that pesky issue of becoming Influenza Alice and spreading your newly acquired bugs to all who come in contact with you.
Here is how the nasal vaccine makes the recipient contagious:
Flu Mist is made with an attenuated (weakened) live virus (or viruses). These viruses can be spread through coughing, sneezing, talking, or touch.
So, for example, if a person receives the Flu Mist at the Wal-Mart pharmacy, then sneezes into his hand in response to something being shot up his nostrils (a pretty darned normal response), then touches something on the store shelf (also not an outrageous supposition, considering people touch things all the time at stores), then what happens to the next person who touches that item?
You guessed it – they’ve just been exposed to live flu viruses. Yes, those viruses are “weak” but if that same person then rubs her eyes or touches her face or pulls a hair out of her baby’s mouth, then guess what? Access granted.
How Can You Avoid Getting the Flu If You Don’t Get the Flu Shot?
You will hear in about 10,971 variations that “The best way to prevent catching the flu is to receive your annual flu shot.”
This is actually untrue. The absolute, number one way to avoid catching the flu is through the exercise of good personal hygiene [4].
- Wash your hands frequently when you are out.
- Use a paper towel to open bathroom doors and turn on taps.
- Although I’m normally not a big fan of hand sanitizer, use it during the height of flu season if you have to touch things that everyone else has been touching, like the handle of the shopping cart, door knobs, and debit machines.
- Use antibacterial wipes (or at least baby wipes) to wash your hands and wipe the steering wheel when you get back into your vehicle.
- Avoid touching your face – this welcomes germs that are on your hands into your body.
- During the height of flu season, consider taking a quick shower and changing clothes when you return home, particularly if you have been in a germ-ridden place like a doctor’s office or pharmacy.
- Make sure the kids change clothes and thoroughly wash their hands when they return home from school.
- I shouldn’t really have to say this, but….wash your hands after using the bathroom and before preparing or eating food.
If your local area is being hit hard by the flu, practice avoidance to keep your family healthy.
9. Stay home as much as possible. (Obviously, if you have work and school outside the home, this become more difficult, but avoid malls, movie theaters, and sporting events for the duration of the epidemic.)
10. Stay away from sick people if you can.
11. Avoid eating at restaurants – you don’t know the health or hygiene habits of the kitchen staff.
If someone in your family is sick, try to minimize the spread of the illness.
12. If you or a family member are sick, stay home from work or school to prevent passing it on to others.
13. If a family member is sick, keep them isolated away from the rest of the family.
14. Use antibacterial wipes to clean surfaces that the sick person touches – doorknobs, TV remotes, keyboards, toilet handles, and phones.
15. Immediate place dishes and flatware used by the sick person into hot, soapy dishwater with a drop of bleach in it.
16. Teach children to cough into the crook of their arm instead of covering their mouth with their hands.
17. Have the sick person wash their hands frequently with soap and water to help prevent spreading germs through physical contact. If soap and water is unavailable, have them use hand sanitizer.
Some other ways to stay healthy are to use natural strategies to maximize your immune system.
18. Drink lots of water to keep your system hydrated and efficient.
19. Take a high quality, organic multi-vitamin.
20. Take at least 3000 IUs of Vitamin D3 daily [5] – research has shown a link between a Vitamin D deficit and susceptibility [6] to the flu.
21. Eat lots of fruits and vegetables (preferably organic and pesticide free).
22. Get 7-9 hours of sleep per day – a tired body has a weaker immunity against viruses.
23. Don’t smoke – this weakens your resistance against respiratory illnesses and worsens the effect on your body if you do become ill.
24. Avoid or limit alcoholic beverages.
25. Avoid or limit processed foods.
Learn more HERE [7].
The Real Question
So the question is not whether people are contagious after getting the Flu Mist vaccine – that’s pretty clearly established. The real question in my mind (put on your tinfoil hats now) is whether the flu is being deliberately spread via vaccines or if this is just an unintended side effect. Either way, my family and I will not be participating in the grand experiment [8] that is flu vaccination.
