On the flu vaccine & boosting your immune system

There hasn't been much for me to write about lately, except for the [lousy] weather and it's contribution to my feeling of malaise (which I'm not going to bore you with today), but now that the winter season is upon us, and with it the heightened awareness of the greater potential for getting sick, this seemed like the perfect opportunity to post some information I think might help us all get through this season in far better shape.

If you have cancer, the question of the efficacy of the flu vaccine has always been a controversial one. Most oncologists will tell you to get vaccinated, because it won't do any harm, and it may be effective, but now there is evidence to support that belief.

The available literature shows that patients with cancer do mount an immune response to influenza immunization. It is unclear, however, whether this response is as robust as that seen in otherwise healthy persons. The CDC recommends annual influenza vaccination for this patient population. Preliminary data suggest that influenza vaccination between cycles of chemotherapy may be more effective than vaccination on day 1 of chemotherapy. Larger, well-designed prospective studies are needed to assess the efficacy of the influenza vaccination in patients with cancer, and the optimal timing of vaccination relative to chemotherapy administration.

There was also this article from the New England Journal of Medicine, on why everyone should get the flu vaccine, which I unfortunately am unable to fully access (the link is only for the first 100 words), but to paraphrase:

.....vaccination decreases the likelihood that an exposed person will pass virus on to others. If sufficient numbers of people can be vaccinated in time, an epidemic can be slowed or even stopped in its tracks.

And finally from the NY Times on how not to fight a cold. This article was published on the op-ed page, but there is a lot of evidence to support this theory (including the two links in the side bar of this blog on why boosting your immune system is not a good idea).

[A] susceptibility to cold symptoms is not a sign of a weakened immune system, but quite the opposite. And if you’re looking to quell those symptoms, strengthening your immune system may be counterproductive. It could aggravate the symptoms by amplifying the very inflammatory agents that cause them.

History IS repeating itself

I didn't grow up during the rise and fall of Hitler and Nazi Germany, so for me to claim it feels like those are the times we are living in now, must be taken with a grain of salt. But I have seen enough movies, and read enough history to know, if the times we're living in now are not akin to the rise of a Nazism and Facism in Europe in the 1930's and 1940's, then we're not far off. If you can't see the parallels with Nazi Germany, then you must be living in a different country than me. Republicans and other right wing extremists will stop at nothing to subvert the will of the majority, forcing their beliefs, that they are the superior race and have been appointed by God, to impose their will on America, while they blame all our problems on immigrants, blacks and Jews. As I speak, Mitch McConnell, and his minions are raising roadblocks to all legislation designed to help average Americans under the guise of fiscal responsibility. They condone violent and verba...

Vaccine Mandates, what are they good for?

Not much, that's for sure! Simply showing evidence of receiving a Covid-19 vaccine (whether fake or not), does not mean you are protected from getting Covid-19, nor spreading it, if infected. We are all different, and too many of us, i.e. people who are immunocompromised/ immunosupressed, the elderly, or others for various reasons, do not [cannot] mount an immune response as good as younger and healthier individuals. What is evidence of immunity is a quantitative antibody test showing you have developed antibodies, and to what degree, either from natural immunity or the vaccine. That is what we should be testing for. That is what is important. But for too long, many, i.e. the FDA, doctors, and other health experts discouraged people (and still are) from getting antibody tests, because there was little knowledge about what level of antibodies are needed to impart immunity to the virus. That of course is true, to some extent, but how can we ever find out [learn] the a...

Open letter to all Democrats

Stop the nonsense! Continuing to go after Trump, without any hope of getting a conviction, does nothing more than provide Republicans with an obstructionist dialogue (now that they have come up with the unconstitutional talking point) in addition to giving Trump much needed publicity, when we should be ignoring him. It's the pure definition of insanity, doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting a different result! Instead Democrats need to be laser focused on what is important to all Americans, i.e. healthcare, Social Security and Medicare, infrastructure reform, the Covid-19 vaccine rollout, to name just a few. And when you do talk about Trump, simply steer the conversation as to how the Trump administration botched everything, how Trump is responsible for the deaths of 400,000+ Americans, due to his inaction and the down playing of the pandemic, plus the deaths of 2 Capitol policeman during the insurrection Trump provoked and incited on January 6, 2021. ...

LIVING WITH MCL

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