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Are you looking forward to a fall or winter flu? I doubt it! But, flu season is on its way! And so is the flu shot, which will contain the infamous H1N1 swine flu and 3 other viruses.

According to the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases, 43% of Americans won’t get the flu shot this year, one-third of moms won’t vaccinate their kids, and 28% of health care workers said they didn’t plan on getting the flu vaccine this year.

The main reasons why people are opting out are that they believe that the swine flu epidemic was over-hyped last year, they have a concern over side effects, a concern about the safety of the flu shot, and that they don’t believe it works anyway.

Here’s another interesting piece of information:

"It makes it appear that Canadians who got flu shots for the 2008-09 winter were somewhere between 1.4 and 2.5 times more likely to catch the pandemic virus [i.e.H1N1] last spring than people who had not been vaccinated against seasonal flu."

The link is still unclear, but offers up some very interesting questions.

So, should you get the flu shot or not?

That is really up to you. But there are more options. You could look for an “alternativeflu shot”,  such as Pascoleucyn or Engystol, both homeopathic-like (i.e. low dose, though not no dose) natural remedies. These can be  injected by trained and qualified practitioners. I’m excited to say that this year I’m offering that to my patients.

This “alternative flu shot” does not need to be an either-or choice. Even if you do also choose to get the conventional seasonal flu shot, you can still also choose to get this one. The conventional flu shot protects against only specific viruses chosen for the year. The alternative flu shot improves immune function as a whole. It stimulates a general immune response. For some, this one shot will help them for 3-4 months. Others with weaker immune systems may need more support with booster shots and perhaps oral supplements to help keep the “bugs” at bay.