By: Nan Andrews Amish

With Avian Flu in the news, parents, seniors, healthcare providers are exploring the question of whether flu shots are appropriate, and if they should be mandated to protect us all from the risk. The fact that many doctors can not get the shots should not be a deterrent for those who are convinced of the benefit. Most drug stores still have stock available. Flu shots are not a slam dunk. They are controversial. Here are some of the reasons why:

1.Flu shots are preserved with thimerisol as the primary preservative. Thimerisol is a nerve toxin, a form of organic mercury. Mercury poisoning is deadly and cause a range of health issues that stay with the patient for life. The effect is cumulative, and if annual flu vaccines become required, the toxic load is sufficient to cause autism-like symptoms, fibromyalgia like symptoms and more. Thimerisol has been banned in many European countries, because of its negative health impacts. I repeat, mercury is a neural poison. Do we really want to inject it directly into our blood streams?

2.Flu shots have a more concentrated dose of mercury, than the EPA indicates is safe for a 250-pound man. We give these shots to babies and school children. And we wonder why learning disabilities are rising at alarming proportions in this country?

3.Flu shots have viral elements based upon the prior flu season in the southern hemisphere, typically Australia. There is no guarantee that the strain of flu that the vaccine builds resistance to, will be what is needed in the US the following season. There is no double blind, scientific testing with flu vaccines. The more a virus mutates, as a result antibiotic overuse, or a result of genetically modified organisms gone wrong, or as a result of the process of making the vaccine, for example, the more likely the vaccine will be ineffective.

4.When flu vaccines were first developed they were determined inappropriate for people in fragile health, the elderly and for people with certain reactions, allergies to certain drugs and foods. Unfortunately when these populations were eliminated, the market for these vaccines was less than 20% of the population. Thus these concerns were removed from final warnings for these vaccines.

5.While flu vaccines were added the government