New Study: The Flu Vaccine Is “Significantly Associated” With An Increased Risk of Coronavirus
By
Arjun Walia
Arjun Walia
In Brief
- The Facts:A new study published in the journal Vaccine found a significantly greater risk of contracting coronavirus among individuals in the study who received the influenza vaccine.
- Reflect On:Are vaccines completely and 100 percent safe for everybody? Is there a large minority who are more susceptible to vaccine injury and complications compared to others?
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On March 12th, 2020, Anderson
Cooper and Dr. Sanjay Gupta held a global town hall on “Corona
Facts
and Fears.” During the discussion, Anderson encouraged the audience to
get a flu shot, suggesting that it may help with the coronavirus. Is
this true?
Greg. G Wolff, an Epidemiologist with the Armed Forces Health Surveillance Branch recently published a study in the Journal Vaccine titled, Influenza
vaccination and respiratory virus interference among Department of
Defense personnel during the 2017–2018 influenza season. The study
examined virus interference in a Department of Defense population, this
refers to the increased risk of other respiratory viruses as a result
of, in this case, the influenza vaccine. The study found that virus
interference varied among vaccinated individuals for individual
respiratory viruses, and found that for coronavirus in particular, in
this study, those who had been vaccinated with the flu vaccine had a 36 percent higher risk of contracting it
The study compared the vaccination
status of more than two thousand people with non-influenza respiratory
viruses to more than three thousand people with pan-negative results.
The vaccination status of more than three thousand cases of influenza
were compared to three different control groups, and appropriate
adjustments were made.
The study points out
that recently published studies have “described the phenomenon of
vaccine-associated virus interference; that is, vaccinated individuals
may be at increased risk for other respiratory viruses because they do
not receive the non-specific immunity associated with natural
infection.” It goes on to emphasize that “There has been limited
evidence that the influenza vaccine may actually be associated with the
virus interference process. Other studies have found no association
between influenza vaccination and increased respiratory virus risk.”
So, it’s important to mention that other
studies have found no association between the flu vaccine and an
increased risk for other respiratory viruses, but when looking
specifically at coronavirus, Wolff’s study found that “Vaccine derived
virus interference was significantly associated with coronavirus and
human metapneumovirus; however, significant protection with vaccination
was associated not only with most influenza viruses, but also
parainfluenza, RSV, and non-influenza virus coinfections.”
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Metapneumovirus causes both upper and lower respiratory disease in all ages.
It’s also important to mention that out
of the 6120 people in the study with respiratory viruses other than
influenza, those who received an influenza vaccine actually had a
decreased risk of having other respiratory pathogens compared to the
unvaccinated group. Again, it’s important to be specific with what
respiratory pathogens one may have an increased risk of contracting as a
result of being vaccinated against influenza. This is why for some
pathogens, no increased risk was observed, and in some cases a decreased
risk was observed. But again, specifically for coronavirus, a
significant increased risk was observed.
When it comes to coronavirus and human metapneumovirus, the data in
this study showed an increased risk of contraction within vaccinated
individuals to be 36 percent greater.The study concluded that:The laboratory data in our study showed increased odds of coronavirus and human metapneumovirus in individuals receiving influenza vaccination…In our disease specific investigation, virus interference trends were noticed for coronavirus and human metapneumovirus…Examining non-influenza viruses specifically, the odds of both coronavirus and human metapneumovirus in vaccinated individuals were significantly higher when compared to unvaccinated individuals (OR = 1.36 and 1.51, respectively)
Receipt of influenza vaccination was not associated with virus interference among our population. Examining virus interference by specific respiratory viruses showed mixed results. Vaccine derived virus interference was significantly associated with coronavirus and human metapneumovirus; however, significant protection with vaccination was associated not only with most influenza viruses, but also parainfluenza, RSV, and non-influenza virus coinfections.
But overall, the results showed “little
to no evidence supporting the association of virus interference and
influenza vaccination.”
When it comes to children, a study published in the same journal, Vaccine, found
that“Among children there was an increase in the hazard of ARI (acute
respiratory illness) caused by non-influenza respiratory pathogens
post-influenza vaccination compared to unvaccinated children during the
same period…Patient perceptions of illness following influenza
vaccination may be supported.”
The Department of Defense has a Global
Respiratory Pathogen Surveillance Program (DoDGRS), it’s a DoD-wide
program established by the Global Emerging Infections Surveillance and
Response System (GEIS). This is how Wolff was able to gather all of his
data with regards to who had been vaccinated with the influenza virus,
and what other illnesses they experienced. The Defense Health
Agency/Armed Forces Health Surveillance Branch – Air Force Satellite
Cell (DHA/AFHSB – AF) and United States Air Force School of Aerospace
Medicine (USAFSAM) also provided access to the data.
Further Thoughts About Flu Vaccination
According to the study above,
“significant protection with vaccination was associated not only with
most influenza viruses, but also parainfluenza, RSV, and non-influenza
virus coinfections.” So, it does point out the benefits of influenza and
suggests it’s effective. It also sites multiple studies that show it’s
effective as well.
But there is conflicting research when
it comes to the flu vaccine and its effectiveness against influenza. For
example, Dr. Peter Doshi is an associate editor at The BMJ (British Medical Journal) and also an assistant professor of pharmaceutical health services research at the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy, published a paper in The BMJ titled “Influenza: Marketing Vaccines By Marketing Disease.” In
it, he points out that the CDC pledges “to base all public health
decisions on the highest quality of scientific data, openly and
objectively derived,” and how this isn’t the case when it comes to the
flu vaccine and its marketing. He stresses that “the vaccine may be less
beneficial and less safe than has been claimed, and that “the threat of
influenza seems to be overstated.”
He goes on to state:Dr. Alvin Moss, MD and professor at the West Virginia University School of Medicine emphasizes in this video:But perhaps the cleverest aspect of the influenza marketing strategy surrounds the claim that “flu” and “influenza” are the same. The distinction seems subtle, and purely semantic. But general lack of awareness of the difference might be the primary reason few people realize that even the ideal influenza vaccine, matched perfectly to circulating strains of wild influenza and capable of stopping all influenza viruses, can only deal with a small part of the “flu” problem because most “flu” appears to have nothing to do with influenza. Every year, hundreds of thousands of respiratory specimens are tested across the US. Of those tested, on average 16% are found to be influenza positive. (fig 2).⇓ All influenza is “flu,” but only one in six “flus” might be influenza. It’s no wonder so many people feel that “flu shots” don’t work: for most flus, they can’t.
The flu vaccine happens to be the vaccine that causes the most injury in this country. The vaccine injury compensation program, 40 percent of all vaccinations in this country are flu shots, but 60 percent of all the compensations are for the flu vaccine. So a disproportionate number of vaccine related injuries are the flu shot. I think many of you it’s been recommended to you that you get the flu shot, I don’t know if you’re aware of the fact, the CDC statistics are, that every year they look at vaccine effectiveness, for this particular year the vaccine effectiveness is 48 percent, so that means it’s not highly effective. It’s not even all that effective, if you look at the scientific literature…the evidence to support giving the flu vaccine is moderate to weak. It is not strong evidence. They say the evidence to support giving the flu vaccine to people over the age of 65 is not there, it’s inconclusive. So a lot of the things we’ve been told as Americans about vaccinations are not really based on the science. (source)
The National Childhood Vaccine Injury
(NCVIA) has already paid out approximately $4 billion to compensate
families of vaccine injured children. As astronomical as the monetary
awards are, they’re even more alarming considering HHS claims that only
an estimated 1% of vaccine injuries are even reported to the Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS).
Something to think about. The
information in this article shows that’s it’s ok to question, and that
the science on vaccine safety is not ‘settled.’ We must ask ourselves,
why are there terms like ‘anti-vax’ and why does big media constantly
try to ridicule any information that paints vaccines in a concerning
light? Surely the questioning of vaccine safety is in the best interest
of all parties involved?
At the end of the day, it’s not about
who is right and who is wrong, and it’s not about one side or the other.
It’s about coming together in a peaceful manner and understanding the
concerns that are being raised, and dealing with them, addressing, and
responding to them appropriately. We cannot hold hate in our own being
if we want to rid the world of it, and we cannot use ridicule and
judgement against, otherwise we are simply perpetuating what we are
trying to get rid of. Operating from a place of peace is essential, it
helps to see things in a clearer way, and it’s something that needs to
become a necessity for all parties involved, whether you support
vaccination or do not.
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