The elimination of toxic chemicals and heavy metals in all vaccines including the flu shot is something that has been on radar of alternative doctors concerned about the side effects they may have. Aluminum and Mercury are known neurotoxins. The National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program reports payout of more than $944 million dollars to 1,124 individuals with injuries caused by flu vaccines between 2006 and 2014. In those years there were almost 1.08 billion doses of flu vaccine. It is unclear whether it was the viral antigens or the adjuvants and contaminants that caused the problems however, it seems logical to me that the injury rate would be further reduced with vaccines without adjuvants and without the actual virus, even in an attenuated state.
An Innovative Alternative
A less toxic alternative to the conventional flu shot is made by a biotech company in Connecticut called Protein Sciences. Their flu vaccine called Flublok has no heavy metals, no adjuvants, no eggs, no gluten, no latex, no formaldehyde and no antibiotics in it. And most amazing, it has no viruses in it! Produced using a recombinant DNA method, it eliminates the risk of bacterial contamination, adjuvant exposure and egg allergens. Their recombinant method involves inserting a gene for
viral hemagglutinin (HA), a key binding protein which the flu virus uses to attach to respiratory cells-into the genome of cell cultures derived from the caterpillar. The gene transfer is done with an insect baculovirus, and once seeded, the rapidly dividing caterpillar cells generate large volumes of HA with the viral protein in it. This HA saline solution when injected into humans triggers our immune system to recognize the viral protein rather than an attenuated virus. Compared with egg based methods, there is far less resource input, and produces far more of the antigenic protein. The other advantage is time. The egg based system requires a six-month production schedule which might mean that in the event scientists were incorrect in predicting which flu strains to be problematic, it would be too late to reverse course. This happened in the winter of 2014-2015. With Flublok, as long as the DNA sequence for the targeted viral protein is known, scientists can reprogram the caterpillar cells to produce the required antigen within a two-month turnaround time. This technological breakthrough by Protein Sciences got FDA approval in 2013. Kaiser Permanente, when comparing the two types of vaccines, found that the antigen content of Flublok was three times higher than the conventional shot. In another study Flublok had a higher HA antibody response of about 15-30% when measuring two out of the three viral strains tested and equal effectiveness in the third.
Interferon
The Yale study that found those who had adequate ability to generate interferon, had greater resistance to the flu, is more in line with what chiropractors and natural health practitioners have been saying for decades about flu prevention. Taking anti-oxidants like vitamins C, E, and D, along with bioflavonoids, zinc etc., or getting adequate amounts in your diet can naturally bring up our bodies defenses including our production of interferon.
Conclusion
The biotech company Protein Sciences has advanced the science of immunology and vaccines. Even though I philosophically lean away from flu vaccinations, I hope their methods are licensed out to other pharmaceutical companies for other vaccinations. Flublok is approximately twice as expensive than a traditional flu shot, but in terms of safety it is worth it. If someone absolutely had to have a flu vaccine, Flublok is the only one I could recommend with a clear conscience.
