Every year, there’s endless talk about flu shots, ranging from those advocating shots for everybody, regardless of age and health, to those who believe that flu shots are deadly. Just to add to the confusion, here are a few more thoughts on the topic.

The biggest problem with flu shots is that they’re so highly targeted. Vaccines are developed for a specific strain of virus. But developing vaccines takes time, and often, by the time the vaccine is ready, the virus has mutated, or a new strain of the virus has appeared. The vaccine doesn’t work against these newcomers, making the shot useless.

In the long run, complete shielding from viruses may not be a good thing. It is well known in Western medicine that exposure to viruses (and bacteria) is what triggers the body to build up resistance against infections. If we continuously fight such diseases with vaccinations, we will become more susceptible to infections and they’ll hit us harder than they would otherwise, because relying on vaccinations weakens the body’s immune system.

Chinese medicine says the same thing and explains it as follows. The flu is caused by wind, which belongs to the Wood element. When the flu is suppressed, the Wood element decreases in the body, which causes the Earth element to become excessive. This can lead to cancers and heart and kidney problems.