Yesterday I read a very interesting article on the flu vaccine (and much more): http://goo.gl/imIa3

Now, as I’ve posted here before, Stefano and I had the vaccine for a number of years before deciding to stop, three winters ago. I wrote about our experience here: http://margaret.healthblogs.org/2013/03/22/my-comments-on-the-long-term-use-of-curcumin-in-two-smoldering-multiple-myeloma-patients-part-ii/ (Scroll down to Experience no. 2.)

The above-mentioned SD article is about the promotion of influenza vaccines, “one of the most visible and aggressive public health policies today,” according to an expert, Peter Doshi, a postdoctoral fellow at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

Interesting excerpt: Doshi argues that the vaccine might be less beneficial and less safe than has been claimed, and the threat of influenza appears overstated. Uhm!

And here’s the clincher: But perhaps the cleverest aspect of the influenza marketing strategy surrounds the claim that “flu” and “influenza” are the same, he concludes. “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.”

Do you have any comments, stories to tell, whatever…? I’d be curious to read ’em!