The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that the 2017-2018 flu season killed 80,000 and hospitalized 900,000 Americans. Of course, the mainstream media reported this as fact as shown in this September 27, 2018 article in the Washington Post:
The Powers-That-Be, including the CDC and the mainstream media, are using these estimates to promote the flu shot for the upcoming flu season.
Keep in mind, the 80,000 deaths and 900,000 hospitalizations are ESTIMATES. And, I can state, with authority, that they are very poor estimates.
You see, deaths from flu are always estimates because if the Powers-That-Be reported the true numbers of deaths from actual influenza infections, the numbers would be much lower and people would not be so inclined to receive a flu shot.
How does the CDC overestimate the number of flu deaths? The CDC accomplishes this by reporting a combined pneumonia and influenza death rate. Every time I try to analyze this data, I know I will have to spend at least an hour searching for the true number who died from influenza because the CDC tries to hide that data.
Why does the CDC do this? The answer is easy: The more people that receive the flu vaccine, the more money the CDC makes. You see, the CDC holds patents on many vaccines including the flu vaccine. (1)
Perhaps I could tolerate the CDC combining pneumonia with flu deaths IF the flu vaccine prevented both. However, the flu vaccine has never been shown to have any impact on the number of deaths from pneumonia.
In fact, for the vast majority who receive it, the flu vaccine has little impact on preventing the flu, but I digress.
In 2001 the CDC reported that 62,034 died from influenza and pneumonia. That year, I would bet that the CDC proclaimed that flu killed over 50,000 Americans. After a painful hour of searching the CDCs database, I found the true 2001 numbers: 257 died from influenza and 61,777 died from pneumonia. Keep in mind, any death from the flu is tragic, but those numbers are out of a population of over 300 million. In 2010 (the latest year data are available) there were 55,227 deaths due to pneumonia and flu. Flu killed 4,605 while pneumonia killed the rest. (2)
So, let’s go back to last year’s flu season. The flu season lasts about six months. 80,000 deaths would lead one to conclude that 13,333 died per month (80,000/6 months) from the flu. If we further divide that number by 50 (the number of states), we can conclude that there were 267 people dying each month in every state from the flu. Since the internet provides 24-hour news cycles, I think we all would have heard that about 9 people (267/30 days per month) in every state dying daily from the flu. (3)
I have five practitioners in my office. We have over 100 years of experience in treating patients. None of us can recall a single patient dying from the flu.
In fact, I can guarantee you that if 9 people were dying in my state daily from the flu, my partners and I would hear about it. In fact, there are always headlines on the internet when one person dies from the flu.
Studying the past CDC data shows that each year a few hundred to a few thousand die from the flu. To say that 80,000 died from the flu last year? I say, “Fake News!”
~Dr B
(2) https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr65/nvsr65_04.pdf
(3): Thanks to Laura Bono for the simple calculations
How do you feel about allergy shots? Are they worthwhile? Harmful?
Thanks.
mary,
Allergy shots help about 50% who get them. Some have a good response to them. Unfortunately, many do not.
DrB
Thank you for your continued effort to showcase the real data! I have spent countless hours reading the literature and studies, obviously focusing on those not funded by big Pharma, or their friends. So what is with the data regarding the child mortality rates? The CDC and every news outlet claims that 80% were not vaccinated. Since so much other data put out by this group has been either been false or exaggerated, are we to believe this is true? It has been shown that repetitive flu shots actually lowers your immune function and makes you more susceptible to flu and ILI. Is it possible that these children were vaccinated in previous years and then stopped? And then there is the idea of “if” there is a small benefit to the vaccine, it wears off over time. So someone getting thier shot in October, may not have protection in February. Any truth to this concept either?
Whoever prepared the Scribd copy of the CDC document cited earlier made an error but it does not take away from its importance.
The boxed quote on the second page says that 8.5% of all “pneumonia and influenza” deaths …. were influenza related. This 8.5% is then applied on the third page table to a range of total annual “pneumonia and influenza” deaths over a 5 year period from 4000 to 20000. The result is given as a range of 340 to 700. It should be 340 to 1700 flu related deaths per year.
Further proof of your thesis, Dr. B.!
Hi Dr .B. I realize your post is about the flu vaccine.
However, I am alarmed about the number of children in this country right now that have come down with Flaccid Paralysis. (seems very similar to polio). If you can post a blog article about this I would appreciate it
no body knows the cause.
Do you have any insight?
Thank you
Karen,
I will post about this in the future.
DrB
People die from compromised metabolic/immune systems. We are all going to die, its just a matter of how long our bodies can keep the upper hand against oxidative stress and maintain metabolic homeostasis. The best approach is concentrate on strengthening our natural systems, not weakening them with vaccines. For example, infections and vaccinations use up ascorbate which is why bowel tolerance goes way up during illness. When ascorbate levels are low we are susceptible to secondary infections which are then blamed for the death.
Thank you for your well considered and stated response.
Many of my friends that got the flu ended up with pneumonia and were hospitalized.
Most had had pneumovax and Prevnar 13. Vaccinations. When you have a viral disease you usually do not get a secondary virus infection..So they probably had a bacterial pneumonia.
This makes me think that these 2 pneumonia vaccines are not very effective.
Karen,
THEY ARE NOT EFFECTIVE FOR OVER 99% WHO GET THEM!!
DrB
This is an unsupported claim that is entirely countered by existing evidence.
The flu vaccine is not perfect because influenza is a very tricky virus, but the idea that 99% of people are not helped is absurd.
Here is a meta-analysis of 31 different studies. The effectiveness of the vaccine varies by season (which makes sense, since it’s a seasonal vaccine) but it mostly does provide protection.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S147330991170295X
Dr. B.
Important questions….
How many of the pneumonia deaths started as influenza? Are these counted as one, the other or both?
Thanks. Keep up the good work.
Bruce,
I do not know the answer to that one.
DrB
Hi Bruce- The CDC document I posted earlier states that only “8.5% of pneumonia is flu related”.
There is incredible misrepresentation of flu mortality in the US. This CDC document states “Only a small proportion of deaths in either of theses 2 categories are estimated to be flu related. Only 8.5% of pneumonia, and 2.1% of all respiratory and circulatory deaths are flu related.” All deaths are lumped in together, even though 91.5% of pneumonia deaths are not flu related, and 97.9% of all respiratory and circulatory deaths are not flu related. These number are a propaganda tactic to encourage vaccine uptake. The numbers are a ‘public health measure’, not a scientific fact. https://www.scribd.com/document/390407470/CDC-disclosure-that-flu-mortality-is-exaggerated-to-properly-communicate-burden-of-flu-infection
I work in the Retirement Department of a leading healthcare organization in southeast Michigan. If I don’t get the flu shot, I get fired. Do you have any suggestions for warding off the toxins in those infernal injections, Dr. Brownstein?
Tony,
At least get a shot that does not contain mercury. Also, you can take a lot of vitamin C both before and after the shot.
DrB
I have a mid-level career at a large healthcare facility, the protocol to push these shots on patients by leadership with little to no informed consent is wrong even as determined by EEOC. Employees have the option to get a waiver for refusing the flu shot; however, the policy states that we have to wear a mask– let me tell you no one does (although it might be a good idea for the unvaccinated to protect themselves against the live vaccines), including all those doctors and nurses who refuse for themselves (according to training records) while still pushing it on patients. They don’t believe in the vaccine, or the logic of the mask besides for the occasional photo op. It is obvious that those who die don’t die from the flu but rather other co-morbidities that put their bodies in an overall vulnerable scenario to begin with, then they get the flu, are administered tamiflu+antibiotics+poor nutrition from hospital food=deadly recipe. I would love to dig through the CDC data one day. Does it let you drill down to dx codes?
Religious exemption!! Look up your state laws.
Thank you so very much Dr. B!
I wish I had the funds necessary to launch a mass-media educational campaign featuring you and all that you share here!
1st reference link to the Google Patents page has “Legal Events” listed at the very bottom that may be worth looking into.
God Bless You All The Way Dr. B!
Thanks Chef!
DrB
Ok, let’s say you’re 100% correct in that very few people, if any, actually die from the flu. I’m not concerned about dying from the flu, I’m concerned about getting the flu. Does the flu vaccine either prevent or lessen the effects of the flu once you get it?
Russ,
Read my previous posts on this. Just type in flu vaccine in the search box.
The short answer is that the flu vaccine, in a younger population may reduce the incidence of getting flu about 7%–in other words, no help for 93%. For older people, there is literally no benefit from taking the flu vaccine.
DrB
I also just read an article that claims that for the small percentage of people that may have been helped by the immunization, there is only a short period of 28 days during which the vaccine is working at full potency. Each week after that, the efficacy further decreases. http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2018/09/study-flu-vaccine-protection-starts-wane-within-weeks
What i have wondered, is how they come up with the flu shot being 20% effective. Maybe the 20% of the people who got the shot who didn’t get that strain of flu wouldn’t have gotten sick with it even if they had not been vaccinated. And not everybody who gets sick goes running to the doctor to get a test to see if they have that strain of the flu. So how do they come up with how successful they think the flu vaccine is?
Does the pneumonia vaccine work very well? Thank you for all the great info.
Diane,
No. IT is 99.9% ineffective at preventing the flu.
https://www.drbrownstein.com/should-adults-receive-the-pneumococcal-vaccine-no-way/
DrB
I wonder of those that died, how many had the flu shot. The year my 84 year old father-in-law entered assisted living he was required to get the flu shot. He got sick within days of recieving the shot, it developed into pnuemonia and he was dead within a month.
It doesn’t make sense to me to give a vaccine to someone who may have a weaken immune system.
And, Janet, THE FLU SHOT DOES NOT WORK IN A 84 YEAR OLD!! It should never have been given in the first place.
DrB
Dr. Brownstein, you should testify in wrongful death suits. Everybody wins and the medical establishment only understands money.
Actually, to die of the flu or pneumonia, i’d have thought you’d have ‘progressed to the stage of being in the hospital diagnosed with SEPSIS — an overwhelming infection status.
And yeah with the current DANGEROUS STANDARD OF PRACTICE, the mortality rate at that point would be close to 50%… and if you hadn’t gotten to that point it’s difficult to imagine how you’d have died of flu or pneumonia…
BUT THE REASON FOR THE 50% DEATH RATE is that the MEDICAL PROFESSION IN THE HOSPITALS REFUSES TO ADOPT THE MARIK PROTOCOL..
Those caring hospital doctors, and the number is slowly growing, who adopt Marik’s protocol — IVC in a cocktail of hydrocortison and B1 twice a day — have reduced their mortality from sepsis DOWN TO 1%-3%…
HENCE THE REST OF THE HOSPITAL DOCTORS ARE THE ACTUAL KILLERS OF ALL THOSE — PATIENTS DYING FROM FLU AND PNEUMONIA… don’t you agree?
Let’s all point our fingers and see how long this fraud continues.. right?
Can anyone refute the analysis? If not, Publix (grocery stores ) that offers a $10 gift for having the flu shot should be made aware of the “FAKE” news aspect which they are supporting.
I have a bit of a problem with the money motivation in so far as the CDC budget comes from the Federal Government and thus is at best only loosely linked to an income source such as patent royalties.
Hi Dr Brownstein.
Thanks for your years of sharing the truth with us. I appreciate you immensely.
Your use of the words, “The Powers-That-Be, including the CDC and the mainstream media”, has prompted me to share the following link to a 13 minute YouTube video “Q – The Plan To Save The World” that incredibly exposes “The Powers-That-Be”, but more importantly reveals the plan in place and being carried out Right Now to overcome those destructive powers. We are living in the midst of amazing history and don’t know it because we don’t hear the truth through mainstream media, only what “The Powers-That-Be” want us to hear. This video awakens us to the truth that we have often sensed but weren’t sure and renews hope for all we hold dear.
Much love and blessings to you Dr Brownstein and all who read your blogs.
https://youtu.be/3vw9N96E-aQ
I saw those crazy numbers for flu deaths that the CDC just put out, and knew immediately that they couldn’t be true. The numbers just don’t make sense with what we hear in the news, as you say.
And the other thing that angers me – the CDC admits that the flu vaccine wasn’t very effective last year, but they want even more people to get the vaccine this year! WTH kind of logic is that?
LK,
The kind of logic our tax dollars pays for.
DrB
Saw an interview with some expert spring a few years back, who discussed the ineffectiveness of the vaccine due to the virus having mutated so far from expected variant the previous year, that he put the efficacy at <70% in the beginning of the seaseon. At the time of the interview, he put at it much lower.
At the end of the interview, he was asked what people should do, and he said, get the flu shot.
I guess they understand what quote will be featured in the short-version excerpt….
Chris,
The efficacy has NEVER been shown to be anywhere near 70%.
DrB
Didn’t know that. Given that, and this physician’s comments in that interview, it shows even more how craven the profession is with regard to the flu shot.
A nephew has Perthes Disease, age 7, and they prescribe him three NSAIDS, valium and Percocet (!) for 6 weeks
Thank you, Dr. B. I trust your news and look forward to your posts. Many of my friends mock me when I tell them I have never had a flu shot. Nor one for pneumonia. At 72, I follow proven advice from doctors like yourself. I arm myself with natural vitamins, pure water, and a healthy diet. Even my doctor marvels that I am on no medications. In the past few years, three friends landed in the ER after taking the combination flu/pneumonia shot. And they still get a flu shot each year. Amazing!
Please keep sounding the alarm.
Thanks for a VERY timely article. I’m so annoyed with the constant insistence to get a flu shot, especially at this time of year. I’m bombarded with it at the doctor’s office, in their emails and questionnaires not to mention the drug store, tv, etc. All I’ve had to defend my position was the dangerous ingredients in the flu vaccine and that the fact that it only protects from a very small number of flu strains. I plan to take a copy of your article to my doctor to put with my medical records and mark my chart that I DO NOT TAKE THE FLU VACCINE. (I’ve already made that request for cholesterol medication.) Thanks again.
Libby,
YOU GO!
DrB
The big question for me is, why do they push so hard for all to get a flu shot? they are often offered for free and on every corner. WHY??? what is the goal? Money for sure but is that all?
Patrice,
Pediatricians get bonuses for vaccinating the majority of their patients. Perhaps the same occurs everywhere.
Money is the ultimate goal.
DrB
You are right, however viral infections lower immunity and secondary bacterial infections are more common following viral infections. Pneumonia can be viral or bacterial. There may be studies on this but I am not aware of any showing the flu vaccine prevents death from secondary pneumonias or even reduces the frequency of secondary pneumonias. Some studies show the flu vaccine reduces immunity to other infections, so it is a very complex issue and certainly not as cut and dry as the CDC makes it out to be.
Don,
There are zero studies showing the flu vaccine lowers the risk for pneumonia.
DrB
Doctor, I am a firm believer of what you have to offer here in your blog. I periodically go to a regular doctor and the entire staff seems to be more intent on selling me a vaccine and logging in to the healthcare system than on discussing my health. Can we say “kickbacks”?
Ronald,
Perhaps, it is time to find a new doctor who shares your views.
DrB
So are you recommending the pneumonia vaccine?
David,
https://www.drbrownstein.com/should-adults-receive-the-pneumococcal-vaccine-no-way/
DrB
Dear Dr Brownstein, thanks for this report however,, everytime I try to tell family and friends, especially my sister-in-law who is a nurse, she tells me that the information provided comes from the USA so it’s not relevant to the UK, what can I say to convince her and others, thanks.
Gloria,
That is beyond ridiculous. I have one comment, courtesy of Mr. Gump: Stupid is as stupid does.
DrB
So, besides the money, why is it so important for the “deep state” which includes much of the CDC, AMA and the FDA, to get as much of the public as possible to submit to the flu shot?
Barbara,
Money and control are behind it all. The more flu shots and other vaccinations given the more money to be made.
DrB
Do you recommend taking Prevnar or other pneumonia vaccine as Rn was always forced to get flu vaccine now do not
Judy,
Read my comments above.
DrB