Con: Flu Vaccines

Vaccines are unnecessary and don’t need to be taken.

I’m not going to get out here and start telling stories about children developing autism after vaccinations, that was enough of a joke four years ago. Truth is, there are many things anyone should at least think about before blindly taking the shot.

Vaccines have been known to cause serious and sometimes fatal side effects. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, all vaccines carry the risk of a life-threatening allergic reaction of about one in every one million. The CDC also reports that the chickenpox vaccine has caused pneumonia, and the possibility that the flu vaccine could be linked to Guillain-Barre Syndrome in one or two per million cases.

Do you know what’s in some of those vaccines? Yeah, we all know that a vaccine is the disease itself, but what about the other ingredients? Aluminum and formaldehyde can be found in some vaccines. Some flu vaccines contain skin, eye, and respiratory irritants, while others can contain chicken egg protein. That last part doesn’t sound bad, unless you’re allergic to eggs or adhere to certain vegetarian or vegan philosophies.

How about who’s making, marketing, and let’s not forget, selling those vaccines. Pharmaceutical companies are in it to make money. We can see from the recent Epi-Pen fiasco, as well as the actions of Martin Shkreli last year, that these companies’ main concern is profit.

These pharmaceutical companies also have a history of cover-ups when it comes to drugs being unsafe or dangerous. I’m not saying that any companies are withholding information regarding vaccines, but just know who it is you’re trusting.

Speaking from personal experience, I’ve received a flu shot once in the last 20 years. My arm hurt and was stiff for three days. The following year was the only time in that same 20 year span that I actually caught the flu. Did my body possibly get used to getting vaccinated thus making me more susceptible the next year when I didn’t get a shot?

When it comes down to it, vaccination is a matter of choice. Some make the argument that requiring vaccinations makes everyone safer but this opens up a whole new can of worms regarding the government’s reach. The decision should end with you.