(NaturalNews) Every year, right about this time, the Centers for Disease Control publishes its annual report indicating the need for vaccination against the flu (influenza). The number of "36,000" is the number of deaths the CDC usually promotes as the reason behind the need for mass vaccination against the seasonal flu. In its Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), the CDC has now admitted that the number of flu deaths has been exaggerated and is probably off by at least 1/3. This is mostly because the oft-touted 36,000 number comes from estimates from 1990-1999 when, the CDC admits, more severe strains of influenza A (H3N2) viruses were in circulation.2
Of course, as Mike Adams recently pointed out, the "seasonal" flu is not "seasonal" and the vaccine for it is usually not even for the right strain (let alone effective).1
Even the new number is misleading, however. The 24,000 number being given now still includes deaths caused by pneumonia and other respiratory ailments only loosely associated with the flu. In fact, the vast majority of the CDC's estimates are these non-flu infections. The real number of flu-only deaths is harder to obtain, but seems to be in the 300 range (by CDC numbers).
Then consider that even the CDC's own numbers show that the vast majority (nearly 90%) of all flu-related deaths (including pneumonia) occur in those over age 65 and that less than 1% occur in those under the age of 19 (including children). Since no accounting of the health status of those who contract and ultimately die from flu-related symptoms is included in the analysis, we have to assume that the reason for most of the deaths occurring in the elderly is because those people are more likely, statistically, to be in poor health.
Then the obvious question should also be asked: why would the CDC revise these numbers down now, when the hype for flu vaccination is higher than it has been before?
The answer lies in the bonus materials of the MMWR. Included in these flu infection and death estimates, the CDC also makes sure to include the Swine Flu (H1N1) death estimates for 2009.3 This year, the usual flu shot includes, in many areas, the Swine Flu vaccine as well. This is the reason that vaccinations have been stopped in several countries, such as Australia, as numerous complications and even deaths have occurred after the double-dose vaccine is administered.4
Now the light begins to shine a little more brightly. Vast stocks of H1N1 vaccines were amassed during the World Health Organization's Swine Flu Scare of 2009 (soon to be re-visited on a TV station near you, no doubt). Those stocks were then, for the most part, likely flushed since the vaccines have a short shelf life. But Big Pharma still has the formulas and they've figured out how to combine the two flu vaccines together. Given that the CDC and many other governmental organizations were such good customers last year, they can likely peddle them again this year.
The 2010 Flu Season Extravaganza is about to begin and the release of the CDC's new numbers is usually the pre-show musical accompaniment as the curtain begins to rise. Grab the popcorn, sit back, and watch as the morbid comedy unfolds.
Aaron Turpen is a professional writer living in Wyoming in the USA. His blogs cover organic/sustainable living and environmental considerations (AaronsEnvironMental.com) and the science debunking mainstream medical and proving alternatives (HiddenHealthScience.com).