The township and county should also be checking water temperatures in rest rooms. I have found that many of them have only cold water to wash. What is needed in battle of the flu is warm water and soap. Just think of the food handlers only using cold water and soap.

I wonder if the rate of flu vaccinnation would improve if doctors did what they used to do...make housecalls. Not only would this be convenient for the patient, it would also serve to keep hordes of patients out of the local clinics and pharmacies during the height of flu season, thus lessening their exposure to the flu virus.

As for the herd immunity argument, I think your appeal will fall on deaf ears. In a country where individuals will not give up their assault weapons for the sake of the weakest of the herd, you are unlikely to find much sympathy.

Doc, your modest Jonathan Swift proposal doesn't really fly with me. Why don't you also address that the more we create these annual flu shots, the more strains of influenza are created and the more resistant they are to future attempts at stopping or slowing them down? I understand that you're looking out for those with compromised immune systems -- it's a noble thing. However, why is it that the majority of the population seems to be asked more frequently to bend over to accommodate the needs of the minority? Is it possible that if someone is in such a weakened immune condition they might just want to consider going out in public a little less than the rest of us...for their own sake?

Well said Dr Salwitz.

Before all of you sheep allow yourselves and your children to be injected with the toxins that our medical establishment calls "vaccines," I suggest you do some research on the Internet, real research that hasn't been tainted by doctors indoctrinated by the medical establishment and/or paid off by the all the money that Big Pharma spreads around to make sure their sales of toxic "vaccines" keep increasing every year. Before you send off a response calling me a 'nut job' or a 'conspiracy theorist,' check the Internet to find out about all the things your doctor won't tell you and the media won't touch. The information is out there. Do you want to be informed with the truth and the facts, or do you want to remain one of the sheep and endanger your health and well-being?

I am currently without health insurance and cannot afford the $40-$60 some pharmacies are charging for these precious flu shots so if this Dr or anyone else wants to donate or pay for MY flu shot that would be swell..Until then please DO keep little Johnny down the street with his dirty hands and snotty face away from me!!!

If you identify a pharmacy in your area where you wish to get the flu shot, it would be my honor to donate the cost. Look at it as keeping the "herd" safe. Let me know.
jcs

The flu vaccination is just the scientists' best guess at which strain will be causing the illness. The vaccination is not always effective. The government and big pharma do not want that well known. There is too much money at stake. People need to educate themselves about the risks and benefits of all vaccines. Most doctors need to spend more time helping to keep their patients healthy instead of reaching for pharmaceuticals as the only answer. How about educating people how to exercise, keep clean and eat fresh fruits and veggies. You know what they say, you either have to pay the pharmacy, or the farm.

Here is a link to a Stay Well guide that has a lot of useful info...
http://issuu.com/bordencommunications/docs/get_well_stay_well_guide_2012/1

I rather like living in a cave.

While caves do have their attractions, I would definitely agree with KK that exercise and diet can go along way to prepare us to resist and recover from infections like the flu. This years flu vaccine "guess" was right on target, and exactly predicted the infecton which is sweeping the Country. The problem is that it is only 60-70% protective and less than 1/3 of the population got the vaccine.. Therefore, perhaps the best answer is "all of the above"; i.e. get the flu shot, exercise, wash your hands neurotically, eat well, get plenty of sleep and perhaps retreating into our caves for a while, may help.

jcs

Most of these bugs are transmitted by touch.... carriers don't sneeze in our face, they sneeze in their hand and then touch ours. Thus, even in an airline using tons of Pyrell or equivilent and soap/water goes a long way. Don't forget the old elbow bump, instead of a handshake. The moment you think you might be sick getting a dose of Tamiflu can abreviate the misery. Hopefully, you are taking a trip someplace warm and dry.

jcs

Just before the flu season of 2003-2004 the CDC recommended for the first time that children younger than 60 months (5 years) and older than 6 months receive an annual flu vaccination. About this time is when the fad of getting a flu vaccine became common for not only children under 5, but for everyone over 5 as well. [source CDC.gov] [source vaccineinformation.org]
The following is a list of different years and the number of flu associated deaths in children reported to the CDC:
•1999-2000 -36 deaths
•2000-2001 -30 deaths 17% decrease
•2001-2002 – 25 deaths 17% decrease
•2002-2003 – 29 deaths 16% increase (This is the last year that the flu vaccine was considered “unsafe” by the CDC for children under 5 – now let’s watch the increase of deaths after the CDC recommends all children age 6 months to 5 years be vaccinated for Influenza.)
•2003-2004 – 153 427% increase
•2004-2005 — 47 deaths 69% decrease
•2005-2006 – 46 deaths 3% decrease
•2006-2007 – 68 deaths 48% increase
•2007-2008 – 88 deaths 29% increase
•2008-2009 – 133 deaths 51% increase
•2009-2010 – 282 deaths 112% increase
•2010-2011 – 115 deaths 59% decrease

The number of children dying from the flu has risen *drastically* since the CDC recommended children under 5 receive the flu vaccine. There has been an average of 67% increase of flu-associated death in children since the CDC recommended children under 5 receive the flu vaccine.

According to research presented at the 105th International Conference of the American Thoracic Society in San Diego, children who get the flu vaccination have a 3 times greater risk for hospitalization:

They found that children who had received the flu vaccine had three times the risk of hospitalization, as compared to children who had not received the vaccine. In asthmatic children, there was a significantly higher risk of hospitalization in subjects who received the TIV (Stands for Trivalent Influenza Vaccine – a.k.a. the flu shot), as compared to those who did not. [source Sciencedaily.com]

So in essence, parents who vaccinate their children against the flu are increasing the hospitalization risk for their child!
[source CDC.gov] [source vaccineinformation.org]

I agree with KK who is right on the money! Being proactive is much more important than reacting to something that already has happened, with good diet and habits combined. It's a shame that the medical and dental establishments do not follow this idea or encourage their patients to do so. It would cost alot less in the long run, I guarantee it too!

If you're contagious stay home! I blame the people who come to work/school/church sick more than those that don't get a vaccine.

Humans have survived a long time with out this continuous push of drugs and toxins into our bodies. There are hundreds of countries that are not crazy about their vaccinations and they get along just fine. The truth is that our immune systems have been drastically compromised by this drug age that we live in. When we get sick we take a pill and feel better the next day. This stops your immune system from growing because your body comes to rely on these drugs and toxins. I for one will never get an unnecessary immunization. If i get the flue, guess what? It gives my body the chance to react to it and allow my God given natural immune system to fight it off so I wont get it anything later. If you dont want to get sick you know what you should do? Stop eating McDonalds every day, get up and exercise, eat healthy and change your lifestyle. Thats the only immunization I need.

Keep shooting yourself up with these drugs and you all are going to end up looking like those things on I Am Legend. Haha

I agree with Chris that sick people need to stay home in order to not infect others in their path! Just in the last few weeks, almost all persons I came into contact with (worked closely with) had a cold, the flu, and one even walking-pneumonia for over a month....But most of all, I blame the selfish, indifferent, money-hungry companies where people are afraid to call out sick for fear of being disciplined or even fired. The company I work for has NO personal days and has no tolerance for illness, and after 4 calls out, you are OUT! No questions asked...And then we wonder why my co-workers come to work as infected, walking-dead zoombies for days and weeks on end...These cooperations need to realize that without a vital and healthy workforce they will LOSE in the end, and they need to be more flexible in addressing many of these serious issues that can tank them.

There is only one kind of immunity and that is natural immunity which is achieved by battling the infectious diseases itself. Vaccination is merely the artificial triggering of temporary responses to manmade pathogens. Vaccines are both harmful and dangerous and are leading to generations of humans with no natural defenses to disease.
Vaccines do not provide long-term immunity; only temporary at best. In vaccines, an antigen is injected into the body to produce a reaction and the immune system responds in the form of antibodies, but antibody presence does not confer immunity. People still catch the diseases that they are vaccinated against. Vaccines actually skip the normal immune responses to activate killer cells which can trigger an overproduction of cytokines in response to the toxic vaccine adjuvants and can damage tissues and organs and even stop the heart and block air pathways.
Vaccines should never be called immunizations because that is a misnomer. Immunity and vaccinations are two different subjects altogether. In fact, breast milk is so potent with immune energizing effects in the infant that researchers at the CDC recommend women withhold breastfeeding their children in order to boost the “effectiveness” of childhood vaccines. The paper claims that women should stop breastfeeding long enough for the man-made poison to work on artificial/temporary “immunity.”

What is wrong with culling the herd? Wouldn't that make the herd stronger and follow the natural direction of life? Or should we keep these debilitated folks alive, thereby feeding the medical machine with tremendous quantities of money. We do spend the most on an individual's medical care in the last two years of their life.

I say isolate those at risk, after all, many of them probably contribute little to the herd and leave the rest of us alone.